The Meeting
by dragonmon12345
Summary: This is based off a tumblr post I saw. The Chief of the Meathead tribe has called for a meeting of all the chiefs. Hiccup and Astrid depart to go this meeting, unknowing of the purpose of it. The other chief's expectations of the great dragon tamer are scary, but maybe it's finally time for change in the archapelago.
1. Chapter 1: Meet Toothless

Today was the day. It was Hiccup's first meeting of the chiefs. He received a letter from Johann saying there was to be a gathering of chiefs on the nearby island of Grawk. Another stupid island name, yes, but it was the perfect place. It was uninhabited, never had bad weather, the wildlife was mostly tame, dragons were few, and best of all, it was located in the middle of the tribes. Apparently, the meeting was called by the chief of the Rockwall tribe. His purpose… "It will all be revealed when we are there." Any smart leader would see this and think, "It's a setup. Even if it wasn't it would be useless to go."

But hey, vikings don't have the best of habits. Even Hiccup, who was the smartest leader Berk had ever had, was too curious for his own good. As he got ready to pack up and go, his dragon began nudging him.

"Sorry Toothless but we can't fly there. The other chiefs might not be used to all… this." He said, motioning to the dragons. "Don't worry though. You'll be hidden under the deck of the ship."

"As will Stormfly," Astrid said, walking in.

"Afternoon m'lady," Hiccup smiled.

"Don't forget, I'm coming with you."

"I know I know. I've learned about putting my foot down when it comes to you," He said, and continued to messily stuff a shirt into his bags, unsuccessfully.

Astrid walked over and took it from his hands. "It would be a lot easier if you folded them," She said and began to fold them. Sure enough, they perfectly fit in now that they weren't crammed.

"What would I do without you?"

"Forget to bring an extra cartridge of zippleback smoke for your sword?" She said, taking it out of her pocket. "We don't know what to expect from these guys. Not all of them are the best of friends with us, even though we're allies."

"I'm perfectly aware of that." He ran his hand through his hair. "I guess I'm just nervous."

"Don't worry," Astrid said, entwining their hands together, their wedding rings glinting in the firelight, "I'll be there with you." They smiled at each other.

Only two months ago, the chief was officially married to Astrid Hofferson. Or should I say Astrid _Haddock._ It was the biggest celebration Berk had ever had regarding a wedding. With dragons shooting "fireworks" and doing aerial tricks, it was amazing. The dress Astrid owned was also beautiful. Borrowing scales from Toothless and a monstrous nightmare, Hiccup's suit was made. With scales from Stormfly and a groncicle, Astrid's light blue and snowy-white dress sparkled in the bright sunlight. There was no hesitation in the vows, and with much crying from Gobber and Fishlegs-even Dagur as well (who was invited)- the two were happily wed.

Astrid's bags were in the corner, neat and light. The rest of the afternoon Astrid helped her husband pack, and eventually they hauled everything they would need on the boat. Before leaving, they took one last flight on their dragons, then they were loaded under the deck of the boat, hidden from prying eyes. Fishlegs and Valka were in charge while Hiccup was gone, and as the boat sailed off, everyone seemed to wave goodbye to them, sad to see their chief leave.

In meetings, the chief was allowed to bring one accomplice along with whatever supplies needed. The meetings could go on forever depending on how long it took the chiefs to settle a matter. With that in mind, Hiccup took a deep breath. Astrid gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before heading to the mast of the ship and watching the tidal class dragons swim.

Naturally, the two had dragons hidden wherever they could. There were three terrors, one for the boat, one for Hiccup, and one for Astrid. There was a scauldron watching the boat and of course there was Toothless and Stormfly. Just in case, Hiccup and Astrid had their dragon calls with them, around their necks, in case of an emergency, and Hiccup had packed 3 extra legs. Astrid had a barrel full of weapons-mostly axes and swords-while her husband had a barrell full of dragon-training supplies like dragon nip and a "laser pointer." His inferno was strapped around his leg, and dagger on his arm. They were prepared for this.

But it didn't feel like it to Hiccup.

As night fell, he was restless, and Astrid couldn't go to sleep with him tossing and turning. So instead, they cuddled, enjoying the warmth of their dragon who were wrapped around them. As soon as the sun rose, Hiccup was up, busying himself with whatever he could. Eventually he took out his old drawing pad and sketched a few dragons while Astrid took a nap. He began to sketch the ship. He took note of the design on the sail. His father had let him pick that design.

His father. He missed him so much. At times like these, when it was an endless, restless period where he had nothing to do, Hiccup would think. He would think a lot. Of his father, mother, wife, tribe, friends, chiefing. He would think about what was to come. These and many more scared him, and so he busied himself in his work, distracted from the worries.

And so, when Astrid shouted, "Land ho!" Hiccup was tingling with energy. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

On the island, there were huts built for each tribe. A new tribe would equal a new hut, and once a tribe was gone the hut would be remade into something new. There were food storage areas and buildings for weapons. Each cabin was customized to fit their tribe. The berserkers, for example, was decorated with the skrill dragon, and dragon heads were mounted on walls. Of course, Heather and Dagur would remove those but nevertheless, it used to fit the tribe.

The Outcasts… nobody has gone into their cabin and lived to tell the tale.

The bog-burglars was a boboy-trapped, women-inhabited place that, if something was missing, you would go there to retrieve it.

The island was small, but perfect. In the center there was a building that had a long, round table in the center. There was a chair for each chief or chieftess, and one for their accomplices. Why was it such a roomy place for a simple meeting? Well, let's just say that vikings don't get along all that well.

"We're vikings, if we can't fight something we fight each other." Hiccup remembered his father saying something like that. He would remember these things his father said at random times, but it made him all the better.

They tied the boat to the dock where all the rest of the tribes boats were. "Are we late?" Hiccup asked.

"Afraid so. I guess we forgot it's slower to go by ship than dragon-back." Astrid said, smiling.

"Heh, yeah good point. Probably should've taken that into account."

They unloaded their things and took it to their cabin where they set it down. Unpacking was pointless for now. They needed to get to the meeting fast! Running their hearts out, Hiccup and Astrid struggled to get their. With Hiccup's leg-even though it was better than ever- and Astrid-well, you'll find out later, they were five minutes late.

Practically bursting through the large double-doors, Hiccup said, "Sorry to be late but I'm here now!"

He was met with jaws dropping.

* * *

 _Five minutes earlier…_

"When are the Berkians going to be here? If they don't show up soon they'll miss why I called you here." Chief Mogadon of the Meathead clan asked.

"I wouldn't worry about it. My brother has the tendency to get himself into little problems like this. He'll be here." Dagur said.

"Broth-"

"Don't ask." Heather interrupted the chief's question.

"Is it true what they say?" Chief Bertha asked. "That the new chief trained a Night Fury, killed a dragon as big as a mountain and lost his foot?"

"I hear it was the whole half of his body." Said Camacazi.

"And that he defeated a dragon army with nothing but a hatchling?"

"Don't forget about how he popped the head off a dragon as a baby…"

"You've got it mixed up, that was his father."

"Son of Stoick the Vast…"

Heather and Dagur were bombarded. Eventually, Dagur shouted out, "Hey!" The room grew quiet and everyone looked at him. "I'm sure whatever questions you have he'll answer, but only after we get this meeting over with." The other chief's mouths gaped. They had never heard Dagur be political before. Dagur looked confused. "What? Did I say something?"

Heather smiled and nodded her head. "Again, don't ask."

"To be honest," Thuggory, the heir to the meathead tribe said, "I'm intimidated by him." Dagur and Heather almost burst out laughing, stifling their giggles. "What's so funny?" Thuggery asked.

"Well," Dagur started, "he's not named Hiccup for nothing."

Suddenly, the doors burst open. "Sorry to be late but I'm here now!"

Everybody's jaws dropped. Or, at least, everybody minute Heather and Dagur.

Hiccup walked over to his seat and sat down, Astrid seating herself next to him. While they were walking, the room's eyes followed the two. Eventually, Hiccup wondered what was going on. "Why is everybody staring at me? Did we already begin?" he asked.

After a long minute of nothing, Camacazi shouted, " _This_ is him? No way, it can't be?"

"What do you mean?" Asked Hiccup.

" _You're_ the dragon controller? The guy who-"

"Camicazi, shush!" Her mother said.

Hiccup should have seen it coming. Frankly though, he kind of expected it. "I prefer the term dragon _trainer_ ," he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Besides, that's not what we're here to talk about. We should get started on the meeting, which I'm assuming hasn't started yet."

"Actually, Chief Hiccup, that _is_ what we're here to talk about." Thuggory said. Everyone looked at him, surprised. Hiccup was now on-edge. He was afraid of this, the other tribes getting too curious about the dragons.

"Dragons?"

"Yes."

"But, why? They haven't been a problem have the-"

"Oh no, chief Haddock, I can assure you that they have been quite civil since-well, we're not sure exactly why. I've called this meeting because we need to know. What ended the 300-year war between the dragons and vikings? This changes all of history, and we, as leaders, need to know what to do about it."

Hiccup took a deep breath in. "Oh boy this is a long story," He muttered. "In what way would you like to be informed?"

"What do you mean by that?" Thuggory asked.

"Well, there's the verbal way," he looked toward Astrid, a lopsided smile on his face, "then there's the demonstrative way."

"Let me show you," Astrid quoted him, speaking in a voice only he could hear.

"My favorite," He chuckled.

* * *

Everybody was gathered by the docks, watching Hiccup and Astrid get onto the boat.

"What are we doing here again?" Camacazi asked.

"You'll see," Heather replied. "Believe me, you won't be dissatisfied." She and her brother gave each other an all-too-familiar smile.

Hiccup opened a latch that allowed him to go below-deck, and when he exited, what followed him caused the other chiefs to "soil their britches," as Eret would put it.

"Well guys," Hiccup began, gesturing to the Night Fury nudging him happily, "meet Toothless.


	2. Chapter 2: Show Off

"Well guys, meet Toothless." Toothless nudged him, licking his hand. "Yeah, I know it's stuffy in there." He responded, scratching the dragon's head.

Chief Mogodan shook his head, snapping out of his astonishment. "Haha, this is…" He gestured his hands toward the two partners, unable to find the words.

"The infamous Night Fury huh? Smaller than I tho-"

"Hush, Cami."

Toothless reired back at the unexpected visitors. "Whoah whoah whoah buddy!" In response, the others drew their weapons. Stormfly, who had just gotten out of the ship herself, ran to her fellow dragon's side. The terrible terror followed her, and the other two who were following Hiccup and Astrid joined their fellow terror in trying to seem threatening. Soon enough, the scauldron, out of curiosity, popped its head out of the ocean, and hissed.

Hiccup, seeing where things were going, shouted, "No!" in an attempt to stop before things started. The first to charge was Camacazi with her double swords. She charged Toothless, who in turn, thinking she was attacking Hiccup, ran towards her. However, before the dragon could make two steps, Hiccup held his hand out, his palm facing Toothless's muzzle, signaling him to halt.

Camacazi's swords were stopped by a fiery inferno, and blazing, angered green eyes staring into her own.

"I told you to stop," Hiccup growled at her.

Now, take note, Bog Burglars don't fear anything. They are a thieving, sneaky, fearless tribe of hard-headed women who, for generations, have learned that they don't need men, and that all living things have the ability to die. But, when the young Bog Burglar heir gazed into Hiccup Haddock's ever-ablaze eyes, she felt her hand tremble, and her fighting stance falter. She had no choice but to sheath her swords, and step back to her mother's side. The other chiefs gaped at the fire sword and lowered their defenses as well. Once seeing the people posed no threat, the dragons stopped bearing their fangs, and eased their muscles.

Hiccup looked into Chief Mogadon's eyes. "You called us here to learn about what happened. To change history. That can't happen if you decide to re-write it without even trying." His gaze swept over the Bog Burglar heir, and she lowered her head in shame. "So, if we are all going to decide to act as worthy leaders, I suggest you at least put in the effort to put down your weapons."

Bertha, like her daughter, did not take well to insults, especially ones made by men younger than herself. "We were raised with weapons, to take them away is like taking away one of our limbs. It's easy for you to do since you're younger and weaker than us, but us? We fight. There's nothing we can do otherwise." Bertha thought her argument was a good point, and her daughter looked up at Hiccup, hoping to see a sign that they had won the fight. Viking chiefs are used to intimidating each other, fighting then getting over it.

Hiccup was different. He always was. When Camacazi called Astrid's husband weak, she flinched at the memories that came back to her.

" _Fishbone."_

" _Can't hold any weapon."_

" _Useless."_

" _What_ shame _he must feel."_

Hiccup didn't flinch, or move, or make any indication of his feelings. After Bertha spoke, his face contorted into one of pity, and he said, "If your people heard what you had to say, they would be very disappointed."

The Bog Burglars were quiet from then on.

"Chief Hiccup, I apologize on behalf of these two."

"It's fine, Chief Mogadon. I just want to be able to talk about this freely without being insulted."

"Can you return to your lecture? I can assure you, it won't happen again," Mogadon said, directing the last part of his sentence to the two women.

Hiccup nodded his head, then put his hand on Toothless's neck. "As I've said before, this is Toothless." The Night Fury, still angry at the others, hissed in a very threatening manner. Astrid remembered that hiss, it was the same one he gave to her when they first met. "He's uh-well-he's a Night Fury, and my best friend. Right bud?" The dragon huffed in response. "Right bud?" Hiccup repeated, nudging Toothless's shoulder. In response, he slapped his rider's head with his tail. "Was that really necessary?" Toothless did the dragon version of a laugh.

"This," he walked over to Stormfly, "is…"

"I can introduce my own dragon, Hiccup." Astrid spoke up.

"By all means."

"This is Stormfly. She's my dragon, and my best friend as well."

"What about the other dragons?" Norbert the Nutjob asked.

"The scauldron is named Scauldy. I did not come up with the name," Hiccup responded.

"Not like it's any better than Toothless," Astrid muttered back.

"Astrid, I thought you were here to support me."

"Anyway, this terror right here," she pointed at the red one, "is Iggy."

"The green one right here," The terror climbed up and rested on Hiccup's head, "is sharpshot."

"And this one," a blue one rested on her lower arm like a trained falcon would, "is Sneaky. We use them to send messages. The Berserkers tribe is already mostly acquainted with most of our dragon training methods." Everyone's attention was turned to Heather and Dagur now.

" _Most_ of the training?" Heather questioned, her hands resting on her hips.

"Come on now, what fun would it be if we told you everything?" Astrid replied with equal amount of sass. The two friends smiled at each other.

"You guys have dragons? I thought only the Hooligan tribe did."

"Long story, but our dragons are back at our hut. I have a razor whip named Windshear. Dagur here has a green gronckle named…"

"Shattermaster!" Dagur whooped, interrupting his sister.

"Yes, but they have only been in the dragon business for about three years, whereas we have for six," Hiccup said.

"Speaking of six years, what happened then? We were prepared for dragon raids for weeks, but they never came. Even now, a few of our people are paranoid. What stopped the dragons?" Thuggory asked.

"Okay then, here we go. Six years ago, during a dragon raid, I shot down a Night Fury, Toothless to be specific. Nobody believed me, so I went searching for him myself. I found him in the forest, tied up by a bola. I took out my dagger, and prepared to cut out his heart to present it to the tribe." He looked pained as he told his tale.

"Why didn't you?" Camicazi asked.

"He looked as frightened as I was. I looked at him, and I saw myself. So, instead of cutting him, I cut the ropes. I thought as soon as he was released, he would kill me, but instead he flew off… or at least tried to. Later that day when I got home, my dad told me that I was going to dragon training, despite my protests, and he left for a search of the dragon nest.

"Dragon training came and went, and I didn't have much luck." Hiccup flexed his non-existent muscles, causing a laugh of a few of the people present. "I would visit Toothless, who was trapped in a cove. You see," He went over to Toothless's tail that didn't have his prosthetic on, "half his tail was wiped clean off from the bola. He was trapped in the high walls. I took a fish to him, after seeing that he couldn't hunt for himself, and after throwing my favorite dagger in the water, he trusted me enough to allow me to feed him. I came every day, and eventually I noticed how his tail was gone. Deciding to help him further, I made his prosthetic. It wasn't easy learning to fly, but eventually we were able to do it.

"I used tricks I had learned during my training time in dragon training. I didn't fight dragons, I played with them. In the end, I got chosen to kill the nightmare. I almost ran away, but luckily Astrid stopped me. I took her for a flight, and we discovered the nest. In it was a dragon the size of a mountain. She used her mind to make the other dragons bend to her will, bring her food, and raid villages against their wishes. If a dragon didn't do what she liked, she ate it." The vikings eye's widened at the images going through their imagination.

"Returning home, I got prepared to fight the Nightmare. However, when the time came I tried to train it in front of everybody and show them dragon's weren't evil like we thought they were, just misunderstood. It didn't turn out well and my father, through a slip of my words, found out that to find the nest you had to use a dragon. They tied up toothless to their ship and followed his lead to the nest. I gathered up the other people in my dragon training group and helped them train dragons. We flew to the nest and defeated the giant dragon before it could kill anybody."

"Don't be so modest, Hiccup," Astrid said, lightly punching his shoulder. "You defeated the dragon with Toothless. We were just there to help."

"Yeah but…" He began to argue, but Astrid gave him a look that said, 'Don't start an argument you can't finish,' and he closed his mouth.

"Is that how you lost your leg?" Thuggory asked.

"Yeah, it is. But hey, this leg has been pretty handy. Besides, now Toothless and I are even." He smiled, petting the Night Fury again, who had significantly relaxed. "And now, six years later, we coexist with dragons. They help us fish, hunt, defend ourselves, train other dragons, fly, rebuild, and some even help me in the forge. They have helped us immensely and not only have been great partners, but great friends as well."

"Well put, brother, well put." (we all know who says that)

"You say you fly on these beasts. Why don't you show us how?" A chief, which Hiccup had not known of before, asked.

Hiccup smiled and looked at Toothless. "Well bud, you wanted to fly. Let's show them just how fast you can go." Toothless roared in happiness, and the dragons copied his cry. "You really like this alpha stuff, don't you?" Hiccup said as he hopped on Toothless's back, his leg clicking into the stirrups. "Let's go bud!"

They took off, the force of the takeoff so hard and quick the vikings were pushed back a couple feet. The two friends flew to the clouds, doing a couple flips along the way. They climbed and climbed the air until they could not be seen above the clouds.

"Where did they go?"

"How high are they?"

"That was so fast!"

Whispers spread all throughout the crowd until someone said, "Hey, look!" Two black dots were diving from the sky. Separately.

"He's off his dragon!"

"The lunatic? What's happened?"

"Is he dead?"

"The likeness of him surviving that fall is as likely as an elephant bird."

"Don't worry guys," Astrid said, "he's just showing off."

"What?"

"You'll see." She looked to the sky, shaking her head at her husband's antics.


	3. Chapter 3: Coexist Not Control

Okay now, even Astrid was getting nervous. Hiccup kept diving and diving, getting faster and faster toward the water, closer and closer to his death. She knew he'd be alright, but even so there was a terrible dread filling throughout her that this would be the day his stunts got him killed. However, just before he hit the salty ocean, Hiccup grabbed onto the saddle, clicked in his prosthetic, and he and Toothless pulled up, gliding on top of the ocean towards the land.

The people around her gasped in awe, and the dragons rolled their eyes. They've seen the trick enough times to the point it was annoying. When he reached the land, Hiccup called to Astrid, "Wanna join in?"

"Sure," she replied back, hopping on Stormfly and taking off with her husband. They did a few flips, and even switched dragons somewhere in the middle. Astrid had learned the pedals for Toothless after she had fully trained Stormfly. Hiccup wasn't sure why it would be necessary but Astrid insisted. After she had learned, she secretly trained the other riders, making sure that if worse came to worse, they would be able to fly Toothless like any other dragon. Snotlout and the twins didn't do so well. Stoick and Gobber even wanted to learn, especially Stoick, even though at the time he didn't have a dragon and didn't want one.

The two partners glided through the air, eventually landing back on the ground in front of the awe-struck chiefs, but not before they kissed in mid-air. "You know Astrid, Hiccup's not the only show-off," Heather commented.

"Like you're any better," Astrid retorted. The two friends laughed.

"Anyway," Hiccup started, "that's just a little bit of what you can learn when it comes to dragon training. With dragons, you can make items like gronckle-iron. Here, Thuggory, is that a sword you wouldn't mind getting damaged or broken?"

"I suppose so, why?"

"Hold it out." Thuggory obeyed the command.

"Astrid, would you do the honors?" She nodded, got out her axe, and sliced the sword right in half. "Gronckle iron is lightweight," she let the chiefs pass her weapon around, "yet it's strong. There's also…" He reached for his inferno, and unclipped it from the side of his leg. "...this. As you've seen earlier, it lights on fire." He pressed the button that caused the rod to poke out and inflame. "For this I used monstrous nightmare saliva. I'm sure you're all familiar with the dragon?" They nodded, some having angered faces at the memory of the burning beast.

"Then there's also Zippleback gas," he let it escape from the hilt of the sword, the hiss of its escape sounding in everybody's ears, "which can be used to light up with a spark," he said, lighting it. The boom of the explosion singed the ends of Hiccup's hair. Not like he cared, though. He'd just cut it off. He had enough hair anyway. "These tools can help us make defenses in case war should ever happen again. Except if it does, we'll have a powerful ally."

"War? Boyyo, now that there's no dragons to fight what madman would attempt to cause a ruckus?"

"You'd be surprised," Hiccup said, looking out into the distance, his eyes glazed over.

"Ahem, so then. How do we control these beasts?"

The scauldron growled at the man who spoke. Hiccup reached over to calm it down. He glared at the man. "We don't _control_ them." He spat out the word like it was poison. "We _coexist_ with them." The scauldron hummed and leaned into his touch.

"Okay then. How do we _coexist_ with these creatures?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"On whether you're ready or not."

"What do you mean, 'if we're ready or not'?"

"What I mean is I've met many people I thought were trustworthy, but turned their back on me. I'm sure you can relate as well. Despite us being allied tribes, I'm a new chief, and I'm not like my father. I don't know you guys or if you can be trusted with dragons," Hiccup said.

"Chief Hiccup, you are walking a very fine line."

"I'm aware of that. This whole meeting is a dangerous situation. Nevertheless, I'm determined to get my point across. It's time for change, and that starts with all of you. If we're going to train you with dragons, we need to make sure you're ready for it."

"And how do you suppose you test us?"

Hiccup smiled. "Follow me."

* * *

"We've been walking for hours," Camacazi groaned.

"It's only been 20 minutes."

"Like I said…"

"Don't worry, it's just over this hill," Hiccup said. He was leading them all through the forest toward a plain he said he saw while he was flying. The chiefs were reluctant, but they followed him anyway. Before they went on their hike, Hiccup asked Astrid to get three other dragons, a Monstrous Nightmare, a Zippleback, and a Gronckle. He also said, "Make sure they're already trained," making sure he was out of earshot so the other vikings couldn't hear him.

As Hiccup said, they climbed over the hill and they were greeted with a wide open area, filled with tall grass and sunshine. "So now what?"

"Now we wait," responded Hiccup.

"UGH!" Camacazi groaned.

"Don't worry, it won't take too long."

"What are you planning Chief Hiccup?"

"You want to prove you're worth having dragons, right?" Hiccup questioned them.

"Aye, that we do."

"Well then, that's what you're going to do."

After a half-hour of sitting down, doing nothing, a loud roar was heard overhead, and four dragons flew down, Astrid on her Nadder. Hiccup ran up to her, helping her off (even though she didn't need it). "Welcome back M'lady," he said.

"I was very tempted to get wild dragons, but I know this is serious," Astrid teased.

If you had told Astrid six years ago that she would be married to Hiccup, ride a dragon, and enjoy fighting, she would have scoffed in your face. However, as the war ended and times became easier, she enjoyed herself more. After seeing how much potential Hiccup had, she realized that he wasn't such a waste after all. Astrid lightened up immensely, enjoying when a good battle came and laughing and making jokes when she could. With a boyfriend like Hiccup, she grew to be a better, nicer person, and that's one of the reasons she loved him so much. He made her better. She still remembered the day he doubted himself.

" _Astrid?"_

" _Yeah?"_

 _The young couple, only eighteen years old, were having a small picnic in the cove. The sunset was beautiful, the air warm and moist, and the summer heat-or as well as heat goes for Berk- fresh on their skin. Astrid was leaning against her boyfriend, smiling at the perfect atmosphere. Or at least, she thought it was perfect._

" _Why do you like me?"_

" _Huh?" She was confused by the question. Of course she liked him, she_ loved _him. "What do you mean?"_

" _Well, I wasn't always this popular, as you know. It changed after we stopped the raids. I can't help but wonder… is the only reason people like me because of what I did? Do people really like me for me or only because I'm good with dragons?"_

 _Astrid's mouth gaped. And then she realized, he was right. Before the Red Death was defeated, before his talent with dragons was revealed, nobody liked him. Not even her. This made her feel guilty, and she didn't know how to respond._

" _Astrid?"_

 _She paused for a moment, not sure what to say. "I don't know, Hiccup. I can't answer for the rest of Berk. But, I can answer for myself. Hiccup…" she turned his head so he was looking into her eyes, "...I love you. I was just too stupid to see it before. And I'm sorry for it."_

 _They looked at each other for a few more moments before embracing, Hiccup kissing Astrid's temple. "Thank you."_

" _No, thank_ you _."_

That was when she realized just how much he had done for them, and she appreciated him a lot more since then. She had never told anybody about that day, as per Hiccup's request, but it never left her mind.

Looking over his shoulder, she saw the other humans present tense up at the dragons, other than Dagur and Heather. "Why don't you guys call your dragons? It will help us alot." She asked.

"Sure thing," Heather responded, and made a loud whistling noise to call for Windshear. Dagur did his Berserker war cry, and Shattermaster was sure to come.

"Good, now that we've got that dealt with, let's move on." He used the palm of his hands to guide the dragons slowly over to the humans, who raised their weapons slightly. It wasn't enough for Hiccup to see, but it was enough for the dragons. They growled at the hostility.

"Oh, that's right! I almost forgot," Hiccup thumped his head with his hand.

"Forgot what?"

"You guys need to drop all of your weapons."

The others grumbled, and looked surprised at the request. Drop their weapons? Be unguarded in front of dangerous creatures that they used to spill blood with almost every day?

"C'mon. There's no other way this is going to work." He walked over to them and took their weapons away from them, sometimes even having to forcefully remove it from their hands. Eventually, Astrid helped remove hidden daggers and the such from them. Not even the Berkers present had a weapon on them.

"What about you, then? You have your weapon. And armor!" A chief exclaimed, feeling naked without his defenses.

"They are used to mine. They know and trust me. But, if it would make you feel more comfortable I'll remove them." Hiccup unlatched his shoulder pads and the other leather parts of his get-up until he was in a green, long sleeved shirt. He even tossed his inferno away. Stormfly ran to get it, but Astrid stopped her, whispering, "Now's not the time for catch, girl."

A roar sounded throughout the valley. "What was that?" Someone shouted in alarm.

"Don't worry, that's just Shattermaster and Windshear," said Dagur, smiling maniacally. He really wanted a chance to prove himself to the other chiefs there. Since all the rumors about him being a bad chief and throwing tantrums, he didn't have a very good reputation. He wanted to change that, like he had to his sister all those years ago.

A green Gronckle and a Razorwhip cast shadows above the heads of the vikings. They landed by the other dragons, and then ran up to their riders, nuzzling them in happiness. Then, they spotted Hiccup and Astrid, and came over to lick them. "Ugh. Glad I don't have my armor on. It doesn't exactly wash out."

"It's been awhile since I've seen them," Astrid said, stroking Windshear under the chin.

"Yeah, they've grown a lot. Anyway, it's time to start training. Who wants to go first?"

Nobody raised their hand. Hiccup sighed, thinking _This is going to be a long rest of the day._


	4. Chapter 4: Making Friends

"If nobody volunteers I'm going to call on somebody," said HIccup, growing a little nervous that their will to learn had suddenly disappeared. Still nobody raised their hands. "Alright then, Camacazi, why don't we start with you?"

"I don't want a dragon," she grumbled, still sour about before.

"Thuggory?"

The heir sighed, but stepped forward, saying, "Might as well get this over with."

"That's the spirit," Hiccup said. "You seem like a gronckle type of guy."

"Why can't I just do a terror?"

"Don't worry. Gronckles are actually easier to train than terrors. Just try it."

Hesitantly, Thuggory moved closer to the Gronckle. "H-how do I…"

"Hold out your hand," Hiccup said, taking the heir's arm and holding it out. He guided it toward the dragon while at the same time holding out his own palm to guide it toward them. "Her name is Clement," He whispered to Thuggory. "Talk to her quietly and soothingly. Let her know you're not a threat."

He gulped, sweating nervously, and said, "H-hey there…" He looked to Hiccup questioningly.

"Clement."

"Clement." He turned back toward the dragon. "I'm not going to hurt you." He squinted his eyes.

"Don't look away. Maintain eye contact."

He opened his eyes, looking into the blue eyes of the other creature. Hiccup stopped Thuggory from moving one foot away from the Gronckle. "Why have we stopped?"

"You've investigated her, let her investigate you."

Thuggory raised an eyebrow in confusement. But, his curiosity was extinguished when the dragon moved forward. He was not expecting that. "Wait, what are you!"

"Shush," Hiccup said, holding the man in place when he tried to move back. "You have to let her choose you as well. This is a partnership. You yourself are not going to make all the decisions."

They stood there as Clement sniffed Thuggory's hand, looked him over, licked his hand, and then nuzzled it. Hiccup let go of his arm, and the heir to the Meathead tribe pet the Gronckle back.

"So this is how you train a dragon?" Thuggory asked, amazed.

"No, this is how you bond with one. The dragon was already trained," Hiccup said, stroking the Gronckle under her ears.

"Wait, what's it like to train a wild dragon?"

"Not easy. I think that's enough for today. We can do the others tomorrow. For now, let's use your new bond as an example. I'm going to show you how to not only bond with them, but how to teach them tricks and eventually, if we can, to fly."

"Flying!"

"But for now, let's just teach the basics. Dagur," he turned to the Berserker chief, "since you have a Gronckle, why don't you help us out here?" Dagur whooped with joy. "When I was in dragon training, I used tricks I had learned with Toothless in secret. For example, Dagur, would you do the honors of dragon nip?"

"Of course brother." Dagur reached into his satchel that was around Shattermaster's saddle, and took out…

"Grass? How is grass going to do anything to dragons?" One of the chiefs asked in doubt.

"This isn't just grass. It's dragon nip, or, as most people call it, dragon grass. Gronckles love it like crazy."

Dagur handed some to Thuggory, and said, "Just rub a little on the nose." He did so, and Clement and Shattermaster's eyes dilated in pleasure, and they collapsed, rolling in the tall grass that they were already standing on before. The vikings stood in bewilderment.

"Some dragons not only collapse from the grass, but also from rubbing under the chi-OH but don't do it to Gronckles!" He added the last part quickly. "My friend, Fishlegs, discovered the hard way they don't like that. Most dragons, but not these ones. It's probably why dragon nip works so well on them."

A little while later, after learning a few more training techniques, the other chiefs and their heirs were able to pet Thuggory's gronckle. Hiccup knew that the next day they would be more than glad to train their own dragon.

They went to the great hall that night to eat together and get to know each other on a personal level.

All the chiefs sat on the top part of the long table while the people accompanying them sat on the other side of the table. They had plenty of food due to the amount the dragons caught and the food storage had an excessive amount left over from the last times the chiefs were there. Granted, it was old and stale, but that's how it is most of the time so they didn't have a problem with it.

The men-and woman-at the head of the table were laughing so loudly the large building rang with noise. Mogadon was in the middle of a story. "...and then, I chopped his leg clean off!" Most everyone laughed. Hiccup was slightly uncomfortable, not due to the fact he lost the lower half of his left leg, but due to the fact he wasn't the type, to quote Ruffnut and Tuffnut, to "Hit first and ask questions later."

One of the other chiefs noticed his uncomfortable posture and decided to point it out. "Speaking of which, what's it like not to have your real leg and instead to have a prosthetic. Surely, judging by the fact yours is so complicated, it wasn't easy to have or make one."

Hiccup felt odd having the attention turned to him. "No, it took me weeks to make the one I have now. I have had over thirty models before I came up with this final product. Over my lifetime, I've probably lost, broken, misplaced, borrowed, and tossed away over 150 prosthetics. No exaggeration."

"Was it difficult, losing your leg at such a young age?" Bertha asked.

"It took me awhile to get used to it, but I was determined to get it down. Without me, Toothless wouldn't be able to fly. His tail fin wasn't easy to make either. Many models were made, some too small, some too large and heavy for normal flying. Not only did it take me a while, but it wasn't easy sneaking around with sketches of a dragon nobody had seen before while the forge was lit in the middle of the night. Once, the saddle got stuck to my flying gear, and I had to take Toothless into the forge to fix it. Astrid almost caught me, but luckily I escaped without being noticed. I swear, my heart nearly leapt out of my chest. Sometimes though, it's fun to look back at the times when my prosthetic came in handy. Once my cousin and I were being chased by wild boars and he decided to try and use my leg as a weapon." Everyone laughed at his story, and he lightened up.

"It's odd thinking how young you are for a chief."

"Dagur was eighteen when he was…"

"Yes, but his father died."

Hiccup sighed, and his relaxed feeling was replaced with sadness. "So did mine."

There was a pregnant pause as they looked at the spitting image of Stoick and Valka. Stoick had been their friend, a good one, and they were curious. "Tell us, Chief Hiccup, how did the glorious Stoick the Vast die?"

"He died in the most heroic, selfless way he could have."

Meanwhile, while he told the tale of his father and Drago, the heirs were having a fun time talking about their own heroics, trying to size each other up.

"The guy swung his axe, but I swung mine faster. Let's just say he's not so lively anymore."

While another person began their own story, Astrid looked to Camicazi sitting next to her, and she noticed a dazed look in her eyes. "Hey," she whispered. "You okay?"

Camacazi looked at her, then at Hiccup. "He's weird."

"Why? I mean, I know he's weird but why specifically?"

"'He looked as frightened as I was. I looked at him, and I saw myself.' When he said that, I looked at the dragon, and I looked at him. True to his word, I saw the same intensity in the dragon's eyes as I had in his. They are really bonded… And I want to have that same type of friendship."

"Are you saying you want a dragon?"

"...yes. As a Bog Burglar, it's hard to trust people. They're always trying to steal something or use me as an advantage to rise to higher power in my mother's eyes. Dragons can't do that. I hope…" ambition overtook her saddened eyes, "...Hiccup can trust me enough to allow me to train a dragon. I know I haven't been that pleasant of a person."

Astrid smiled. "I'm sure you two are going to be great friends. Hiccup has this way of forgiving people. It can be annoying sometimes."

"Agreed." Heather had joined in on the conversation. When I was fifteen, outcasts captured my parents. I came to Berk, gained Hiccup's trust and stole Stormfly and the dragon manual. Now, I think of him as a brother, and as far as I know he thinks of me as a sister."

"Heck, due to Hiccup even I'm a best friend to Heather."

Camacazi smiled. "I'm glad to hear that."

Astrid held out her hand. "Then let's start over. I'm Astrid Haddock."

Camicazi looked at the offer, and after realizing what it meant, she shook her hand gladly. "I'm Camacazi, but my friends call me Cami."

"Don't exclude me," Heather said, holding out her hand. "I'm Heather, but my friends call me Heather." Camacazi shook her hand.

"You know, it's funny," the heir said. "I have never made so many friends in such a short amount of time. Actually, I met Hiccup once as a kid…"

 _The 5-year-old Bog Burglar heir wandered around Berk, looking for something to steal. Her mother had come on a business trip to renew her treaty with Berk. She heard someone yell, just around the corner of a building. Running to see who it was, she saw three kids, twins and a dark brown-haired boy, shoving a skinnier kid who kept reaching for his sketchbook they were holding away from him._

" _Give it back guys," he pleaded, jumping for it. He was shorter than they were._

" _Hey!" Cami yelled at them. They turned to her, confused. "Leave him alone!"_

" _Or what?" The brown-haired boy taunted. He must have been the leader. She took out her long, curved sword that at the time was too big for her._

" _Or I'll run you through!" At the sight of the weapon, the boys scrammed. Snotlout and the twins had learned from Astrid not to underestimate girls. She walked up to the boy who had his sketchbook back._

" _Thank you for helping me," he said. "My name's Hiccup and one day I'm going to be the best dragon killer around!"_

" _I'm Cami. I'm going to be the best Bog-Burglar when I'm older." The two shook hands._

 _The next few days Camacazi was there, she and Hiccup bonded well over their ambitions even though they were sometimes underestimated. They became great friends. However, as the years passed and they spent more and more time apart, their childhood friendship was forgotten._

"It's funny. We're the same age, but he seems so much older than he really is. I'm wishing for us to become friends again, like we were when we were younger, even if it was for a short amount of time. For now, I guess I'm stuck with you two," Cami said, causing Astrid and Heather to laugh.

"Hey, and you don't have to worry about me using you for power. Technically, I rank ahead of you as a general and wife of a chief," Astrid said, giving a smirk that said, 'I have now joined in the sizing up, now it's your turn.' Cami smiled and knew then that the two were going to be great friends.

"Yeah, but when I'm chief…"

Suddenly, Astrid threw up.


	5. Chapter 5: The Arrow Effect

"Astrid!" Hiccup called out, running toward his wife whose hands were covered in vomit. Everyone's attention was snapped onto the two. Hiccup was kneeling next to Astrid, pulling out a cloth she could wipe off her face and hands with until they got to a place she could wash up. "What happened?" He asked her.

"I… I'm fine."

"No your not," Hiccup said. He picked her up bridal style, then turned to tell the others in the building, "I'll be going back to my hut now. I'll see you in the field tomorrow." He kicked the door shut behind him and the vikings inside could hear a whistle, the swooping down of dragons, and the taking off of them.

"What was that about?" Camacazi asked.

"It's… complicated," Heather responded.

"Will she be okay?"

"...I don't know."

* * *

"Astrid, what happened back there?" Hiccup asked, feeling her forehead.

"I just had a little stomach bug, it's not big deal," She answered, taking a sip of the warm beverage he gave her. Giving her a look that said, 'I doubt that,' he told Stormfly to make the fire a little larger.

"Last time you told me you were okay you nearly died from a plague."

"Well I'm pretty sure I don't have the plague, Hiccup."

"Maybe not, but I do want to find out what _is_ wrong. You can't expect me not to worry after you inexplicably threw up." He walked over to get another blanket for her. "I'm going to send a message to Gothi."

"No, Hiccup, don't."

"I'm doing it and you're not stopping me."

Astrid smiled a little at her husband's kindness, wrapping herself further into a blanket. She remembered the first time he had cared for her like this when they were sixteen.

 _Astrid sniffed, nestling herself further into her pile of blankets. She had a bad cold and her father forbade her from leaving the house until she was feeling better. This did not please her to say the least. Stormfly flew off a while ago, and as betrayed as Astrid felt, she knew the dragon needed to get out and exercise. Just like herself._

 _She was restless. Grumbling to herself, she slunk further into her bed, bored. She sneezed, and sighed, knowing that this would last today and tomorrow. It bothered her knowing her friends were outside having fun without her. The only other person in the house was her mother, but she was downstairs._

 _Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door, then the hinges of the door open, and some muffled voices as her mother and the visitor talked. She listened as footsteps walked up the steps, but there was an unusual_ clank _to them. She knew who it was before her bedroom door even opened._

" _Hey Astrid," Hiccup said, walking into the room and sitting on the stool next to where she laid. "How are you feeling?"_

" _Cruddy. But that doesn't mean I have to sit here and do nothing!"_

 _Hiccup gave a lopsided smile at the all-too-familiar demeanor. "Well, since I figured you were bored I'm here."_

" _What about Toothless?" She had never seen Hiccup without Toothless unless it was forced, like when they got captured by Outcasts. No exaggeration on the never._

" _Don't worry, he's outside with Stormfly."_

" _Stormfly?"_

" _Yeah, she came and got us. We knew when you weren't with her, there must have been a problem."_

 _Astrid smiled. Her best friend really cared for her. And it was all thanks to this scrawny boy sitting in front of her._

" _Oh, I remember! I brought you an extra blanket," Hiccup said, reaching into a bag he brought and pulling out a dark red blanket. He handed it to her and she could feel it was thick, warm, and soft. She hugged it and then draped it over herself._

" _Thank you, Hiccup. But you don't have to stay with me if you want to go flying or something."_

" _No. I'm going to stay here and help you. Besides, what's the fun in flying if there's no one to compete against?" He gave her that lopsided smile she loved so much, and she beamed._

" _Thank you."_

" _Don't mention it."_

Back then it was the greatest feeling, to be cared for. And it still was. She closed her eyes, dwelling on the warm feeling that was in her heart.

When she woke up later on, Hiccup was next to her, his back turned. He seemed… frustrated about something.

"Hiccup?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, his voice coated in anger. It was then she noticed in his hands was a crumpled up letter.

"Gothi replied, didn't she?" Astrid figured. Now her secret was out.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hiccup repeated, turning around to face her. Now she could see he wasn't angry, he was scared.

"I didn't want you to worry. I thought I would get better."

"In trying to make me not worry, you worry me more. Every time you try to hide your problems it makes me want to find them out. This… wall you sometimes put up just does the opposite of what you try to do. How could I not worry when you're hurt. If I don't know everything that's wrong, I'll make my own assumptions. Astrid," he hugged her, breathing in her scent, "I'm scared now." She hugged him back, her eyes watering. "I want to hear it from you, not Gothi." He pulled out of the hug, looking into her blue eyes, "what's going on?"

Astrid sighed. "Remember when we were 18 and I got hit by the dragon root arrow in my leg?"

Hiccup nodded his head. "I remember a little bit of that day."

"Yeah well, the dragon root gave me an allergic reaction."

"But you had been introduced to it before and…"

"It's different. There are some people who can't eat chicken. They can touch chickens and not have a problem, but when it enters their bodies it hurts them. That's what happened to dragon root. I guess since nobody ever eats it one would suggest it can't cause an allergy other than to the dragons. But, It affected me and it still is. The root works slowly and it wasn't so bad when I first got hit with it. Gradually, though, my legs have been getting weaker and I've been throwing up pretty often." Hiccup squeezed her hand hard. "If it continues like this, then in a couple years I might not be able to walk at all. At least," she wiped a tear off her face, "that's what Gothi says. She's usually right."

"I-is there any way we can fix it?"

"Gothi said it's impossible but…"

"What is it?"

"It's ridiculous."

"I don't care." Hiccup tilted her chin up and kissed her. "I would go to the ends of the earth for you even if everyone thought it was ridiculous. What is it?"

She hesitated but then said, "I'd have to drink venom from the Red Death."

* * *

"I wonder how they're doing out there," Gobber said to Valka as they walked through the village.

"I as well. This is Hiccup's first meeting with the other chiefs, right?"

"Aye. Poor boyo. It's just one thing after another. I can't remember the last time he actually relaxed." A sad look crossed his face.

Valka looked over at the village. "It's good to be back. I had never thought that in his lifetime he could accomplish all… this."

"Would you have ever come back? If Hiccup never found you, would you still be here on Berk, eventually."

She sighed, expecting the question would come sooner or later. "Honestly, I probably wouldn't. Drago, without Hiccup, wouldn't have turned his attention to Berk and so it wouldn't have crossed my mind."

"Oh."

"But I did think about it a lot. I had this image of Stoick the Vast's son, mighty and proud dragon slayer, underestimated, much to the mistake of his enemies. He would be a strong, unquestioning chief who would win the hearts of his people with a single battle cry."

Gobber was laughing to the point where he was crying. "You couldn't have been more wrong."

"But he does have his people's hearts, at least most of them, and he's better than I could have expected. I see so much of my husband in him. At first, when I recognized him as Hiccup, I thought he mostly took after me. I thought he had run away like I did. Then he told me about all of Berk and the dragons. It was too much for me. I didn't believe him. But then…"

"You saw Stoick and I…"

"And I knew that everything had changed. Now, living here and getting to know him, I see so much more of Stoick than myself in Hiccup. It's odd sometimes."

Gobber sniffed, thinking of his best friend. "He thinks he's not his father, but he's wrong. I remember that same look in Stoick's eyes when we were lads. The want to prove himself overwhelmed him and he thought he could never do enough. Hiccup…"

"Thinks exactly the same way. I remember when he was a babe and he opened his eyes for the first time. A bright green they were. So full only innocence. My husband always said they looked like mine, but I had to disagree. I knew he was more like his father. Gobber?"

"Yeah?"

"Why didn't he ever remarry? It often happens to widowers who are in high power. Not to mention it would have benefitted Hiccup to have a mother."

"Is your head screwed on backwards?" Gobber yelled humorously. "That man would have sailed off the edge of the world before being wed to someone other than you. Valka, he loved you so much. His heart was broken for so long after you left."

Valka looked downcast at this statement. "Oh."

"He would bury himself in his work and then come home late and tired only to get up in the morning more exhausted than he was the night before. Eventually he got better, but he ended up distancing himself from the son he thought resembled you in every way. After Hiccup trained a dragon, Stoick realized his mistake. Either way, he loved his son. He just wasn't too good at showing it."

Valka sighed, her voice shaky. "I was no better than he was in neglecting Hiccup. When I first found out I was pregnant we were scared… and happy. But mostly scared. We thought we would fail in our parenting, but eventually with the villager's support and each other's reassurances, we figured we could pull through."

"I know you didn't want to be like your parents."

"Our parents never thought about us. Mine least of all, and I always thought to myself 'when I have a child, I'm going to be the best parent I can.'" A tear went down her cheek. "I guess I'm just a big hypocrite."

Gobber put a hand on her shoulder. "But you're here now, and that's what matters."

She hugged him. "You've always been a good friend, Gobber."

He hugged her back. "You've always been a better one."

* * *

 **-A lot of people were like, "oh, she's pregnant." When writing this I was like, '** _ **That's a nice theory you got there. It'd be a shame if it was wrong.'**_ **(insert smirk face here.)  
-I'm going to take this opportunity of an author's note to say thank you for all your support in this fanfiction. I've been getting a lot of good reviews and follows/favorites. I'm happy you guys enjoy it! I enjoyed making this one even more than I did my last. Until next chapter… goodbye.**


	6. Chapter 6: Past Friendship

***valka, stoick, gobber, etc. are eight***

Valka lay in her bed, reading. It was a new day and she was excited to get out. It was before the sun had risen, and she didn't want to wake her parents up. She was especially happy about today because it was her birthday. It's not like she was expecting presents or anything. She wasn't part of the richest family in the village. Nevertheless, she was a year older, and that was one year closer to dragon training.

She had seen the older kids in their training, and she was excited to one day become a warrior. Granted, she was small and not a good fighter, but that's what practice was for, right? For her birthday, she only asked for one thing. A dagger.

She had seen her father bring home a box late one night, making sure she didn't see what was in it. This made her even more giddy as she saw the sun begin to rise.

Sunrise. That was when she was allowed to rise from her sheets and go outside to meet her friends. She had plenty of friends. Most were boys. There weren't many girls on the island, and even so they didn't like her. Why? She couldn't figure out. But it didn't matter because nothing could ruin today.

Valka almost floated down the steps, her feet silent as ever. She closed the door softly and fast so that the hinges wouldn't squeak, then sprinted to the village square where her friends, Gobber, Stoick, Tuffnut (sr.), and Helga were. "Hey guys!" She called out.

"Hey Val!" They shouted back.

When she reached them, Helga hugged her. "Happy eighth birthday!" The others joined in. Valka was the youngest of her year and it bothered her. "We have a surprise for you."

"Really?" Valka asked. She had never received gifts from anyone other than her family before. Not that she minded.

"Mhm. But it's a surprise. You'll get it at the end of the day."

Helga was her best friend. Out of the group of five of them, she was Valka's favorite. Then came Gobber, then Stoick, and finally Tuffnut. "You didn't have to," Valka said.

"I just got my job as a smith apprentice. I wanted to do something for you that I could," Gobber said excitedly.

"Oh. So it's a metallic item?" Valka figured.

"Gobber!" Stoick said, punching his friend on the arm. "No clues. She has the brain of a Roman Scholar." Stoick didn't talk much, but when he did it was fun. At this comment, she couldn't help but laugh, and the other four joined in.

"So, what should we do today?"

"Let's go exploring!" Tuffnut said. "I thought I saw something cool in the forest yesterday."

"But Tuff, we're not allowed…"

"That's the fun of it!"

So, here they were. In the forest. They trudged through the greens, following the boy who told them to come in the first place. "We're almost there!" He shouted. After a few more minutes, they found themselves slipping through cracks of rocks into a cove.

"Whoah," The children gaped at the beauty.

"Yup. I was thinking this could be our place, like a clubhouse but… not a house," Tuffnut said, smiling at his accomplishment. He was always very productive, and smartest next to Valka.

"It's perfect!" Helga said. She was the most fun and laid-back, but also the most energetic. They stayed in there all day, setting up plans and imagining what they could do in the future. Eventually, when it was dinnertime, they returned to their homes, agreeing to meet up at night in the great hall.

"Valka," her father said when she arrived back. "Can you come here?"

"Sure thing, papa," she replied, practically leaping for joy. She walked over to him, and in his hands was the box.

"Happy birthday," he said, handing the box to her. She tried hard not to jerk it out of his hands from excitement, and she opened the box.

A doll.

She was disappointed to say the least. Nevertheless she was a grateful child and she said, "Thank you, papa. I really like it."

"I knew you would. A small lady like you with a dagger? Ha! What a joke. Dolls are much more your style."

"But how am I supposed to do dragon training one day without a weapon?"

"Dragon training? I don't think so. You're not strong enough." He then walked away, leaving a heartbroken daughter behind. She ran out of the house to the great hall, tears in her eyes. When she got there, her friends were smiling brightly, but when they saw the look on their friend's face, their expressions dropped.

"What's wrong?" Helga asked.

Valka noticed the hot tears streaming down her face, and wiped them off quickly. "Nothing," she said quickly. She didn't want to be seen as spoiled.

"Obviously, it's not nothing."

"No, really, I'm fine."

"Valka," Stoick said, giving her a no-nonsense look.

She sighed. "My father says I'm not going to do training when I'm older. He says I'm too weak."

Helga hugged Valka, Gobber shouted, "That's ridiculous!" Stoick clenched his fists and Tuffnut growled. They knew their friend wasn't the strongest, but she was nimble and quick. If she wanted to, she could become stronger, and they knew it. Never underestimate Valka. They learned that when Tuffnut tried to pull a prank on her and it backfired. "You're not weak," Helga said defiantly. Valka hugged her back hard. This is why she loved her friends.

"You guys are right, it's not a big deal. So, what did you want to give me?"

Gobber's face lit up and he giddily took out a box in his satchel he brought. "I made this for you!" He said, handing her the box. "The others helped too."

She opened it, and much to her surprise, there was a dagger. It wasn't the most beautiful thing in the world, but it had a strong handle, a comfortable fit to her hand. It was light, yet would still work for her when she got older. In other words, it was perfect. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She said, hugging everyone at once. Her smile could have outshined the sun. "Gobber, this is beautiful."

"Ah," he said, blushing, "it was nothing."

Valka never forgot the kindness of her friends. Later on, she gave the doll to Helga, and in turn, Helga gave it to her daughter.

 ***Valka and Helga are fifteen***

"So, you're crushing on Stoick, right?"

"Helga!"

"I'm just stating the obvious."

"Yeah," Valka smiled, "I guess I am. An what about you and the Hofferson boy?"

"Oh, maybe just a little bit." The two friends giggled.

"Hey Helga?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to get married one day and have kids and everything?"

"Of course."

"But… doesn't it scare you?"

"Well," Helga thought for a moment, "I guess it is scary. But I think it will be worth it in the end. I've always wanted a little girl. I'd name her Astrid, and she'd be the most fearless girl ever. She'd fight well and be a warrior, making her tribe proud. What about you… Mrs. Haddock?"

"Shut up!" Valk blushed, much to the enjoyment of her friend. She groaned, giving her friend's shoulder a shove.

"But really."

"Well, _if_ I ever married Stoick and _if_ I was destined to have the next chief I guess I'd have a boy first. _If_ I had a boy he'd be strong and, hopefully, would mostly take after his father _if_ it were Stoick." Her friend was having a blast. "I'd also give him the dagger Gobber made for me all those years ago. I'd want him to be good in a smithy so…"

"That'd be a lot of fun for Gobber, and apprentice. If he can ever get out of apprenticeship himself."

"Give him a break, he's pretty good. Anyway, even if my son turned out like me, he'd go to dragon training like I planned to, and…"

"Speaking of which, why didn't you go? You were practically desperate as a child. Why the sudden change?"

"You know when we were in the forest a couple years ago?"

"Yeah. You got lost for a little while trying to map it out."

"Well, the reason I found my way back was because of a dragon, a terrible terror to be exact. It stole my notebook and I chased after it. Eventually, it dropped it and when I looked up after picking it up, I was home."

"I'm pretty sure it was a coincidence."

"But that's not all. After I realized what it did, it-he-climbed on my shoulder and nuzzled my cheek. Then my father called for me and it ran off."

Helga was gaping. "I don't believe this."

"Well, believe it or not, it happened. Dragons do have a mind, and they do express kindness."

"You're crazy."

"I always have been," Valka said. Helga laughed. "I don't know why they attack us if they have a conscience, but I'm going to find out. That dragon saved my life, and so I won't hurt theirs."

"On small dragon and you go nuts."

"One small dragon is all it takes to change the world."

"Well Val, I hope one day you do have a kid. Then he can be your apprentice in dragon training."

The two friends laughed, and after talking for a bit more, they walked home.

 ***back to the story***

 _I'm going to have to visit Helga,_ Valka thought as she walked to her home, Gobber heading to the smithy.


	7. Chapter 7: Visiting

Helga Hofferson heard a knock on her door.

 _That's strange_ , she thought, _I'm not expecting any visitors._ Walking over, she turned the knob and opened it. Standing there was none other than Valka. This surprised Helga, and she stood there speechless.

"Hello Helga. Long time no see I guess," Valka said sheepishly. She wasn't wearing her armor, but she had her staff with her. She never let it out of her sight.

"O-oh, hi Valka. Come in?" Helga responded, opening her doors. Valka stepped in, and the door was closed. "Sit down?" The two sat down in chairs opposite each other. There was a minute of silence before Helga spoke up. "Why are you here?"

"I thought it would be good to visit an old friend. I'm doing a lot of that lately."

"No, I mean… what are you doing back on Berk? Why did you leave in the first place? Where have you _been_?"

"I…"

"Do you know how _sad_ we all were when you left us? We thought you were _dead_!" Valka's head tilted down in shame. "If you were able to leave your friends… your family for so long, why would you come back?" Helga was in tears.

Valka took a longer look at her old friend. She had changed visibly. She was shorter, not by much, but nevertheless it was obvious. Her skin was tanner, probably from all the dragons being around with their fire, and her eyes seemed to be darker around. In a word, she looked tired. "I know I haven't made the best choices."

Helga shook her head. "You are unbelievable. Where were you when we fought dragons? When my parents died in a fire? Where were you when we befriended dragons, or when your own son lost his leg? How about when my daughter, or Tuffnut's twins, Spitelout's son, and any other child was born? I cried for months after you left! Everybody mourned you! Why did you…"

"Stop it! I get it, I've been a horrible person. I've been the worst friend, viking, wife, and mother. No, I wasn't here when any of you were in pain, or in the joys. I wish I was! I've missed you all so much. It hurt me too, to stay away from my babe, from the people I love. But what could I do? I'm carried off by a dragon. You people were still in war with them, and if I had come back with a trained Stormcutter and word of a peaceful dragon nest, you all would have been in an uproar! It would have disturbed life as we know it, and I would be completely shunned by the tribe!"

"Just because you were an odd, stupid person that nobody liked doesn't mean…" Helga covered her own mouth. She hadn't meant to go that far. "I'm sorry," she said.

"No, _I'm_ sorry. You're right. I shouldn't have left. You all went through pain and I left for my freedom. I fled from responsibility, and now I'm paying the price. Helga, you have every right to be mad at me. I expect it. But just so you know, even if you don't see me as a friend, you'll always be one in my eyes."

Helga rushed Valka, hugging her tight. "You weirdo." The two laughed. "C'mon, let's try to catch up on what's happened."

"I'll be glad to." The two separated from their embrace, and relaxed in their chairs. "So, let's take turns. One question at a time."

"You go first."

"Alright. How did Hiccup lose his limb?" She had actually never heard the story. If she asked Astrid, or any other person of their generation, she'd change the subject. Gobber would just talk about the prosthetic. Dragons couldn't speak sadly, and Hiccup himself was too busy to explain. It was a long story. She had heard songs and tall-tales about what went down, but she wanted the non-sugarcoated version.

"It was about six years ago. He was the one chosen to kill the nightmare in dragon training. Stoick made him go, and Hiccup had developed tricks from Toothless in secret. He tried to train the nightmare, but in the end it got spooked and attacked him. Somehow Stoick found out you could use a dragon to find the nest, and capturing the night fury he tied it to a ship and used him to find the nest. When we got there, we busted it open only to find the alpha. It had been using the dragons to raid us-as I'm sure you figured out. We thought we were dead, but just in time Hiccup, leading the other dragon training recruits, on dragon back! That gave us a shock.

"They saved us, fighting with their own dragons. Hiccup and Toothless lured the alpha into the skies. All we could see was smoke, fire, and shadow. We heard the cries of the beast as it got hit. Eventually, we saw them appear through the clouds, diving straight toward the ground. The Red death was about to fire at them when, right before it did, Toothless ignited the gas in it's mouth, lighting its insides on fire. It tried to use its wings to brace itself, but the two had fired holes in them, and the beast fell to the ground, landing in a huge explosion. Toothless and Hiccup tried to fly out, but the tailfin had burnt out, and they fell. Toothless barely caught Hiccup. We...we thought they were dead. However, they were fine. Hiccup's leg… the fire practically turned it to ash. It crumbled when the healer...uh, anyway. He was fine. He woke up, saw Berk with dragons, and immediately flew on Toothless throughout the village. It was such a sight."

"I wish I was there. I could have helped; I could have done something."

"It doesn't matter now. You have to answer my question," Helga diverted Valka's sad thoughts. "How do you send a terror message? I've been trying to get Missy here," she pointed to a Terrible Terror curled up by the fireplace, "to send a message, but I don't know how."

"Goodness, I just barely learned myself. It's amazing. Berk has progressed even further than I have, as far as socializing dragons with others go."

"I'll be glad to show you," Valka said.

"Okay." Helga turned her eyes to her terror. "Missy, come here. Come here girl." But she wouldn't come.

Valka chuckled. "Missy." She whistled and clicked twice and the Terror came right to her lap. Valka rubbed affectionately under the chin.

"Whoah, how did you…"

"Practice. Now, first you want to write the message. Do you have one?"

"Right here." She held up a small scroll.

"Perfect. Now you want to tie it to Missy's upper right leg. This way her tail won't flick it off her back leg and she'll be able to see if it falls off and can retreat it." As Valka said the instructions, she did the actions, tying it to Missy's front right leg. "Now, not every terror will be so willing. Luckily, you have her trained. Sometimes to coax them into letting you touch them you have to…"

"Use dragon nip or show them you won't hurt them by petting them. Never give them food. I know."

Valka seemed impressed she knew this. "Every person has their own click or message. Hiccup's is three clicks and a growl."

"Luckily that just happens to be who I'm sending it to," Helga said. She made two clicks and a-poor-growl. The Terror got the signal and flew out of the window.

Valka was curious now. "Why are you sending a letter to him?"

"I want to know how Astrid's doing. Those two have gotten into more trouble than you'd expect. With dragons they went everywhere, and the places weren't always safe. With all the chiefs-well-you know how they can be."

"Aye. But what specifically. I'm not meaning to pry or anything but…"

"Oh no, it's fine. It's just that, ever since Astrid went and got married, it's odd living without her. She was always so cheerful, after her walls were knocked down."

"I can't imagine Astrid with a hard-nailed personality. She seems a lot like you were."

"Yes but up until she was 16, all she was was a warrior. She was everything I had asked for, but I could tell she didn't enjoy being a fighter as much as she made it out to be. Hiccup changed that. He has a way of changing minds."

"I can imagine."

"Which is why, when he came to my house and asked me for Astrid's hand, I shouted in his face, "About time boy!""

Valka laughed. "What was his reaction to that answer?"

"He was surprised but nevertheless thanked me and left. Although, I have never told them this, I heard him outside my window say to Astrid, "We're good." Then she poked on his button that makes his back-wing thing pop up, and he kissed her. I swear those two are so cute it makes me want to punch myself."

"I know right? What's the funniest thing Hiccup and Toothless have ever done?"

"Oh boy! Once on April fools they played a prank on Astrid. Take note, Hiccup's a smart lad, but he's not good with jokes. Anyway, he pretended he and Toothless crash-landed in the forest."

Valka groaned. "Oh no."

"Yes. The plan was, once Astrid was flying over the forest, Hiccup would sneak up and hop on Stormfly. Fishlegs was helping by the way. However, nobody saw them perform this trick. They were in the forest all night. Stoick was off on a trip to the Meathead tribe, so he didn't notice. Everybody else thought he was at home. Gobber didn't notice. He was with Stoick. It was the middle of winter, and the next day he comes up to Astrid, pulls her aside, and tries to explain where they were."

"But he had Toothless."

"Yeah, and Toothless's April fools prank was to pretend to abandon Hiccup. He was behind the trees, but stayed quiet. Hiccup shunned him for a whole day before he got ground-sick and flew again."

Valka laughed. "It would appear that this happens often."

"Not often enough. I haven't had a good laugh in a week."

"Only a week?" It felt good, to talk like this. As if Stoick wasn't dead and Hiccup was still a boy. It's a feeling she hadn't had in a long time.

"I have a question now. What's the most shocking thing you've ever seen?"

"A man riding on the back of a Night Fury pouting because he was angry at his father."

"I'm being serious!" Helga chuckled.

"So am I! It's not every day your son of twenty-years comes riding into your midst."

"I guess so. You know, I'm glad you're back. I've missed you," she smiled, taking her friend's hand in hers.

"I as well." Valka hugged her best friend and the two were happy, finally being able to live out those growing-old dreams they had thought about since they were children. An abrupt _bang_ was heard and it shook the house as the door flew open. Valka and Helga released each other and reached for their weapons. However, there was no enemy waiting for them.

Standing in the doorway, ready to stomp into the house, was Astrid.

* * *

 **Okay, I love everyone's reviews they are amazing, but let me just point out this is fanfiction. If everything's not accurate(such as ages) it's for a reason. Also, I know Alvin was Stoick's childhood friend(believe me, if I can memorize the entire second movie, and most of the specials and first movie, I can know that). However, in this fanfiction, he wasn't** _ **Valka's**_ **friend, and thus why I didn't include him. If you wanna see a fic with more Alvin you can read my last one, "One in the same." Thanks for your reviews, I love them all!**


	8. Chapter 8: Dance

Hiccup and the others were back at the usual spot for training. The dragons were there as well, waiting.

"Hey, where's Astrid?" Heather asked.

"Yeah, I'd thought since she wasn't with you, she'd be here," Camacazi added.

"She… wasn't feeling well. I had to send her back," Hiccup answered.

"Don't you need an accomplice, though?"

"I do. Let's not forget about Toothless here."

"He can't be an accomplice!" Mogadon said.

"Why not?"

"He's an animal!"

Hiccup looked at him, then shook his head, giving a pitying look. "Dragons aren't just pets. They're too intelligent. They're not just partners, they're too friendly for that. They are family. Once you and your dragon are familiar with each other, a bond will grow, and the next thing you know you won't be able to imagine life without them. Moving on." He made a quick grumble sound and the Monstrous Nightmare stepped up and stood at Hiccup's side. "We are moving on to the Nightmare."

"What! Already? But…"

"Don't worry. They're not the hardest dragons to train. In fact, for vikings, they're one of the easiest. Our brave, crazy, suicidal demeanor attracts them. The more courage you have, the more likely they are to gain a good specimen like this." The Nightmare puffed out his chest at the compliment. "So, who wants to go for it?" There was a few tentative raising of hands, and a lot of dropping of them. Eventually though, one stood out above the others, despite the short person who had it raised.

Camacazi was confident she could train this one. She was determined. The conversation last night with Astrid encouraged her, and she had her mind set on change. She wanted to be better.

"Camacazi? That's surprising but, alright." She stifled a smile at his approval. Walking forward, her legs unwavering despite being a little frightened, she allowed Hiccup to take her sword from her hilt and toss it away. Being without her trusty weapon was uncomfortable, as it was for most people, but she knew she could do this. She wasn't a Bog Burglar if she couldn't do so much as gain a friend.

"What do I do?" She asked, confidence in her voice.

Hiccup smiled, knowing the two would fit well. "Walk over to her."

"But that's not what you did for…"

"Different dragons require different methods. Trust me. Trust her."

Camacazi looked at the large dragon and slowly stepped toward her while Hiccup took a step back. She was now alone with the dragon. "N-now what?"

"Stand still. She's going to look you over. And remember, do not be afraid."

She stood up straight and tall-or as tall as she could-and took a deep breath. The nightmare slumped down, almost as if she were stalking her prey, and circled Camacazi. Every now and then, she would sniff in certain places, nudge a shoulder or a leg. She'd lick a part of Cami's arm or lift a piece of hair. Suddenly, she reared, hissing at the viking girl and lighting on fire.

"Whoah whoah whoah!" Hiccup yelled, jumping between the two. He held his hands up in front of the dragon. Seeing she wouldn't be calmed easily, he took out his sword, made a line of zippleback gas between he and she, and lit it on fire. The blast was small, but it was enough to knock the dragon back to her senses. She folded her wings and nuzzled Hiccup, seeking comfort. Turning to Camacazi, he said, "You scared her."

" _I_ scared _her_?"

For a small glimpse, a blink and you missed it moment, a twinkle of fear glinted in his eyes. Only she saw it, and she had an idea why. He was worried for his wife.

He pet the Nightmare's nose affectionately before walking to Cami. "Do you have any weapons?"

"No. Only my sword." He gave her a doubting look. "I swear, I was ready today." He circled her, checking up her sleeves and in hre boots to make sure. Suddenly, his nose wrinkled as he sniffed the air. He reached for a lock of her blonde hair, and sniffed it. "What are you doing!"

"Eel?"

"U-uh, yeah. I use it so that it doesn't get so tangled…"

"Dragons hate eels. They're… allergic to it. You can't use this anymore if you want to have your own."

"But…"

"We'll retry tomorrow. For now, let's move onto the zippleback." As Camicazi walked back to the crowd, the Nightmare glared at her.

She glared back.

"Zipplebacks are trickier to train because you have to do both heads at once. So what you need is…"

"A water bucket!" Chief of the Sawhead tribe said, enthusiastic to know the answer.

"No!" Hiccup shouted in the same excited tone as the viking, somewhat mockingly. "What you need is something to grab their attention. What you could use, or at least what most people use, is fish." He patted his lap, signaling Toothless to come over. He opened the saddle bag and ruffled around in there. After finding nothing, he looked at Toothless and scowled. "You ate the fish, didn't you?"

Toothless crooned, giving an apologetic, yet naughty and regretting, look. Hiccup pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Okay, we're going to have to improvise. Thuggory, I'm going to go find some new fish with Clement. That okay?" Thuggory looked surprised that Hiccup had asked him first, but nodded. "Alright. C'mon Clemente, let's go get some fish."

She nudged his foot. "Yeah, you can have some too." The other dragons looked at him expectantly. "And you guys too, I guess. I swear, we spoil you on Berk. Oh, and Toothless?" The Night Fury gave a questioning warble. "Watch over them for me." Then, with the pink gronckle behind him, he walked into the nearby woods to reach the stream.

"Can you believe them?" Big-boobied Bertha said. "The nerve! He left an animal to look over _us_? As if we weren't responsible, like we were children?"

"Well, can you blame him? It's not exactly like we've been the best to him. He's a new, young chief. He'll learn," Mogadon defended.

"Yes but…"

"I think it's hot," one girl said, and her father gently and warningly whacked her upside the head.

Camacazi was out of earshot. As they argued, she snuck away to follow Hiccup. Something wasn't quite right, the way he walked off, slower than usual. She, in her silent ways, stepped over snappable twigs and made no rustle in the leaves where she stepped. Her movements were careful, and she was light on her feet. She enjoyed burglarizing, it gave her a sense of freedom, like nobody could see her or cared. As a chieftain's daughter, privacy was a thing of the never. So, at these moments when she felt transparent and ghostly, she couldn't help but smile.

Eventually, she reached the stream and climbed a tree. There sat Hiccup, Clemente was by the stream. Already she had caught a fish and plopped it into the saddle bag. "Sorry but, I'm going to have to leave this job to you. It's not like I was ever good at fishing anyway," Hiccup said. The gronckle didn't seem to care, however, and she happily dunked her hot head into the cool current of the river, pulling up a fish and eating it. Hiccup reached down and began to unbuckle his prosthetic.

Cami sometimes forgot he was crippled. It was amazing how he was so used to it, as if it never bothered him. She knew vikings who had fake legs who usually limped. However, this chief never did. Heck, he even flew better than he walked. She wondered sometimes how he could do it. Her conversation last night with Astrid regarding the first time he lost it was strange as well.

" _Yeah. When he woke up after the couple months he'd been knocked out, he was limping. He needed Toothless for support. But when he flew, he flew as if his leg were never gone. For him, riding the sky, something he'd only done for a few months, was easier than walking on the ground, which he'd been doing all his life."_

She watched him as he groaned in pain, massaging the stump. "Gah. Damn leg." Clemente came over to him and licked hin non-existant foot affectionately. He smiled, rubbing the gronckle's nose. "Thanks, girl."

Now Camacazi was confused. He was hurt, right? By her guess it was phantom pains, so why didn't he just tell them he needed to rest for a while? They could probably do training with him sitting down. It's not like there's anything to be ashamed of. Many warriors in her tribe had to pause and rest, and they didn't care. The others understood. So, why…

"C'mon, we better get going back. The others might be wondering why we're taking so long. Don't want to appear weak." He hooked his fake leg back on and stood up. He almost fell down again-luckily Clemente was there to catch him-and the pain on his face was evident. "Thanks again," Hiccup said appreciatively and let go of her.

He limped away, and when he reached the edge of the woods, before making his appearance again to the others, he sucked in the pain and walked normally.

 _Don't want to appear weak._

The words echoed in her head, and she shook her head. "Stupid," she muttered to herself and hopped out of the tree. It made her a little sad, knowing that he didn't trust them enough to show his weaknesses, even the small ones.

But then she remembered when he was a kid. He and Cami were sitting together, and he told her how he showed the other kids his age how he liked to draw. The pages were taken from him and ripped apart, burned in a fire.

He didn't know it, but even though he'd forgiven and forgotten, his brain had subconsciously learned from the experience, and he applied it to most of his life. She felt her eyes water. She was going to make Hiccup Haddock trust her lest a dragon strike her down.

Walking, not to anybody's notice, out of the woods, she saw the dragons eating happily, Hiccup giving a demonstration for the Zippleback. He seemed so natural with it, how his movements were in sync with the beasts, moving in a steady beat as if it was a dance embedded into his mind. She wanted to learn that dance as well, and the desire was in the other vikings too.

Every now and then, though, his brown would furrow for a short second before returning to normal.

The dance was flawed, yet it continued.

The dance was a secret, yet it was slowly being shared.

The dance was a safe haven, but would soon be a burden.

And when the end of the day was over, and Chief Hiccup whispered into Camacazi's ear, "Don't tell anybody about what happened in the woods," she knew.

The dance was a teacher, and she a humble student.

* * *

 **Yes, I** _ **know**_ **in the books Camacazi has a changewing but that's not going to happen in this fanfiction. There's one more thing… the tribes here, there is one more than just Berk, Meatheads, Berserkers, and Bog Burglars. I'm not going to have the other ones in the book because I can't keep track(sadly). There is one I'm making up called the sawblades. They haven't been features so far because we're focusing mainly on the well-known tribes. Don't worry though, we'll get to know them later. Until next time, goodbye.**


	9. Chapter 9: She Understands

"And… this has been going on for how long?" asked Helga, looking at her daughter with eyes that had a glint of fright in them.

"About three years," Astrid responded, looking down at her lap where her hands were holding a warm cup of tea. Her shoulders were slumped as she told her mother the truth about her health.

When she barged in, she was angry at her husband for sending her home, and the adrenaline running through her veins only fed on the nervousness she had. To her surprise, her mother-in-law was sitting there too. That probably made her confession easier, not having to tell it twice. It was cold outside, and the goosebumps on her arms prompted her mother to give her a hot drink by the fire. That's why she loved her mother. She always knew what was wrong before Astrid ever said anything.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier I just…"

She was cut off from a hug by her mother. "Oh, Astrid." Astrid couldn't help but hug her back.

"And there's no way to cure this?" Valka questioned hopingly.

"There is but, it's impossible."

"Oh, I doubt that," she smirked. Of course, the dragon-lady who was somehow still alive would know all about the impossible.

Astrid smiled, happy she married into this family. "I need Red Death venom."

Valka's smiled dropped, and her face was downcast. "Oh."

"So it's true, then. There is no cure."

"Not… exactly." Valka struggled to find the right words. "You see, Red Deaths are more common than you'd think. They're just also more reclusive than you'd think. The one Hiccup fought was rabid."

"Rabid! Talk about a rumor coming true. Anyway, we have plenty of tracking dragons to..."

"Yes, well, that's not the problem. It's not just that they're reclusive. They're _violent_."

"But you just said…"

"I said, that one was rabid. It wasn't as mysterious as the others. However, its behavior at its home being attacked was the usual."

"Of course. Of course this happens!" Astrid threw her hands up in hysterics.

"It would have been easier with the Bewilderbeast. Only alphas can negotiate with other alphas. Even then, it's very edgy."

"So then there's nothing we can do?" Helga asked, her voice cracking.

"I didn't say…"

"But it's implied…"

"I haven't implied…"

"You just…"

"Guys!" Astrid yelled, stopping the two's rambling. She took a deep breath, and relaxed, a tactic she learned to control her anger. "Look, I know this seems hopeless. It probably is. It's one of the reasons Hiccup sent me back."

"Hiccup sent you here?" Helga questioned.

"I thought I already told you that."

"Doesn't he understand how drastic this situation is? Why isn't he here with you, helping?"

"Mom, Hiccup _is_ trying to help. He…"

"Yeah right! If he was helping he'd have come here to tell us this himself!" Her voice was rising as her temper rose as well. Astrid had to have gotten it from somebody.

"No. He can't, mom. He has other responsibilities."

"If you're not his top priority then why did he marry you in the first place!"

"Mom!"

"If he truly cared for you he…"

" _Shut up!_ " Astrid practically screamed. Valka had stood there watching the two unfold for quite a while. She was used to claws and bites to separate, not words. Astrid was raised to be a polite person, especially to adults. Never. _Never._ Had Astrid yelled at her parents. So, when Helga heard her daughter's outburst, she was taken aback, and couldn't speak for a moment.

"Astrid…"

"Everybody is always criticizing him! They're blaming him for things he can't control-they complain about the good things he brings them! The people admire him and love him as their chief, but they're so _damn_ irritable that I can't stand it! Hiccup tries his best, and they don't see that! And mom, I would have never thought you'd have spoken out like they do, nevertheless about our marriage!"

"Hon'."

"Hiccup is over there on an island with unfamiliar, possibly dangerous, diplomats, finding a way to keep the peace in the archipelago so that we won't suffer the consequences. He's concerned about my well-being so he sent me home. In the meantime he's over there teaching the chiefs about dragons so that he can ask their help to find a Red Death. He's going to have to beg and plead and put down his dignity for me while you're over here worried about our _relationship_!" Astrid got up, walked over to the door, opened it, looked to her mother, and said, "I'd have thought talking to you would have made me feel better. Obviously, I was wrong." Then she walked off, leaving the door open just a crack.

Helga was left behind, her mouth gaping. Valka rested a hand on her shoulder, hoping to comfort her friend. "Go to her," Helga said.

"Me?"

"She's angry with me. I can't talk to her as of this moment. Please, Valka. Comfort her, the way we knew we would one day when we were kids." Giving her friend a sorrow-filled smile, Helga took Valka's hand in hers, patted it, then let it go. "Please."

Valka sighed, but smiled. "You know I could never say no to you." She walked toward the door and said, "See you again tomorrow?"

"Town square," she answered, nodding her head. Then, Valka left, closing the door behind her and starting toward her daughter-in-law.

* * *

Astrid sat on the cliffside, her legs dangling off the edge. Stormfly was curled around her, nuzzling her rider's arm to comfort her. Astrid gave a reassuring smile to her dragon, petting her. "Yeah I'm okay Stormfly. At least _you_ understand."

"It doesn't do well to only make friends with dragons, no matter how helpful they are," Valka said, walking toward Astrid. "I should know."

"Valka."

She sat down next to Astrid. Taking a deep breath, she was ready to be the mom she had never gotten to be. "I know how you feel."

"You do?"

"Oh yeah. Don't forget, I was married to a chief myself," she said, giving Astrid a nudge on the arm.

"I forgot."

"As many others do. Astrid," she looked into her eyes, "it's not your fault."

"What do you mean?"

"I know how you're feeling. You blame yourself for what's going on with Hiccup. You're worried if you weren't there it'd be one less thing for your husband to worry about. But Astrid, that's not it."

Astrid's voice rose and she looked at the sky in earnest. "How is that _not_ it?"

"It took me for Stoick to yell it in my face before I myself realized the truth. He needs you, Astrid. You're his coping mechanism-the one thing keeping him sane. Hiccup doesn't have much family, he never has. He loves you. Why else would he need such a spitfire beauty?"

Astrid chuckled. "Y-you're right. I'd never thought of it that way." Then, she started to happily cry.

"What's wrong, dear?"

"Nothing. I'm just remembering that around the same year I got that arrow's poison in me, Hiccup said, "There will always be a Hiccup and Astrid." I was just remembering that, in that moment, nothing seemed impossible."

"It's still true, though. It's possible."

"And how are we going to fix this mess?"

"Well first, I'd suggest apologizing to your mother."

"But…"

"She didn't mean any harm. She's confused and sad for you. You're her daughter, Astrid. If she lets a slip of the word, if she forgets herself every now and then, she has the right."

"But don't you ever get angry at other people?"

"Indeed, but that's the thing. Anger is not a way to solve things. I know how my son gets criticized every now and then, but everybody has a complaint about something. Not to mention, if you're right and you know it, what does it matter what other people say?" The two stared into the sunset. "You know, we're going to find that antidote. No matter what, I know Hiccup, and most of Berk, cares very much about you. _I_ care for you. If they won't find a way, I will."

Astrid took a moment to reflect on that, and remembered that her mother told her about Valka's kindness toward the dragons during the war, and how her unpopular opinion had earned some backlash. She knew she was right, and she didn't care about what others thought. Astrid stood up.

"You know what, Valka? You're right." Stormfly squawked and mimicked her rider's actions.

"So then," she stood up as well, and faced her daughter-in-law, "what are you going to do?"

Astrid smiled, hugging her mother by marriage. "Thank you. You're a great mother."

Valka was surprised, but after that came joy. Those were words she wanted to have heard forever. And now, she had.

They both stood there, hugging and crying as their dragons flew above them, knowing their riders were happy.


	10. Chapter 10: Too Ambitious

**I didn't update all summer because I mainly type fanfiction during school and wanted to take a break. Sorry for the wait. Enjoy…**

* * *

Hiccup was back in his hut. He couldn't take the phantom pains in his leg, and decided to rest for the night, much to the others' confusion.

It wasn't the first time this has happened, of course. Often, in the middle of the day or at night, his leg would burn with his veins throbbing and scars seering with hurt. At this point, you think he'd be used to it, but especially now that he wasn't at home and his wife wasn't there to comfort him, he felt alone, and, like the isolation of his childhood, he reflected on his life, noticing all the good he has done. That, at the very least, comforted him.

Toothless was curled around him, the dragon's warmth like a light in the darkness. Hiccup felt better with his best friend, and was about to fall asleep with his dragon companion, when a knock was heard at the door.

Toothless raised his head attentively, and Hiccup groaned, putting his leg back on. "Who in the archipelago…"

Opening the door, he was surprised by who stood at the frame. "Hello-"

He was interrupted by Norbert's daughter throwing herself at Hiccup, her arms wrapped around his neck. "I'm Nestra, heir to my tribe, beauty of my island," she gloated, grinning confidently.

Hiccup nervously faked a smile, taking her hands and pulling them off him. "Yeah, I know. What uh, what brings you here?" He wondered aloud, looking down at the girl. She was tall, and she was beautiful, but she was too aware of it. Hiccup, when he was younger, had seen her plenty of times and had never spoken to her. He didn't want to judge too quickly, but he could already tell she would be a handful.

"Oh, no particular reason. I just had a few," she paused for a moment, wracking her brain for an excuse, "questions. About… dragon training."

Hiccup could immediately see through this fiasco. However, being a polite pushover when it came to women, she pushed past him and into his hut. She jogged over to Toothless and ogled over him. The dragon obviously didn't enjoy it, and looked at Hiccup begrudgingly. Hiccup shrugged in response, not sure what to do.

He decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and asked, "So, what are your questions?"

"What do you mean?" She asked in all seriousness.

"You said you had questions," he replied, confused.

She threw her head back, laughing. "You thought I was serious."

"So then what are you here for?"

Her amused expression turned into one of hunger as she started at the Berkian chief. She licked her lips and walked forward, her hips swinging and her movement slow but steady. She leaned in and whispered in his ear, "You."

Suddenly she attacked, pressing her mouth hard against his and wrapping her leg around him. Almost immediately, Hiccup pushed her off. "Excuse me!" He shouted, angry. "What do you think you're doing? I'm married. You're engaged to someone else. This is treason!"

"Playing hard to get, are we?" She was persistent. She knew what she wanted and wouldn't stop until she got it. She looked weak, but as a Viking she was strong. Nestra pushed him to the floor and let herself fall on him. "I like stubborn men." She leaned in again, but he dodged her.

"Will you just leave me alone?" He yelled.

"Tag? Very well." She chased him around the room, Toothless not caring about the situation, yawning.

"I don't want you," he stated, hoping that he could convince her to stay away.

"As if. How could you not want this?" She gestured to her entire body. "And so, I want this." she gestured to Hiccup.

"You just gestured all of me," he remarked.

She smirked, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. Nestrax flew across the room to him, too fast for someone in a long dress.

"Stop it!" He yelled as he ran. Tripping over Toothless's tail, he fell, landing on the dragon. It's not usually for this to happen. The rider could be clumsy more often than not, so Toothless saw it coming. What he didn't see coming, however, was the woman landing on top of him. This did not please the tired dragon in the slightest. This female, he could immediately tell, was a threat. It was not playful, it was serious.

Toothless quite liked Astrid. As Hiccup's mate, she was family, and a dear friend and fellow soldier of the dragon. Her dragon was also a familiar face which with Toothless would play with when Hiccup was busy. He had expected to see hatchlings soon, although the two humans obviously weren't in a rush. Curiosity about human hatchlings had stuck in the dragon's mind for quite some time, and he looked forward to it. Toothless knew Astrid was sick, before she even knew. Human medicine was amazing, and he thought she was getting better. It was the opposite, much to his dismay.

There's also the fact about dragons. They mated for life. Sometimes they would take multiple mates, but no more than 3. They would always return to their nests to see hatchlings and the new generations. Humans were similar, although they mainly took one mate. So, when Toothless felt this unfamiliar girl on his back, all over Hiccup, he got annoyed. Hiccup is Astrid's. This female needed to back off.

Toothless stood up, grabbing Hiccup's collar and shaking off Nestrax. She fell with a thump, surprised by the sudden movement of the beast. Toothless dragged Hiccup outside, closing the door behind him.

"Toothless, bud, what are you doing?"

Toothless grumbled, and walked over to the little pond nearby. There, he proceeded to chuck his human into the cold water. A moment later, Hiccup came up, sputtering. "What was that for?" he yelled at his dragon.

Toothless 'laughed' and jumped in after him. A wave overcame the two, and Hiccup was, once again, soaked. Then, the dragon slapped Hiccup with his tail.

That's when Hiccup realized. "Yeah, I probably deserve that." Toothless nodded his head in agreement. Sometime his human could be a real doormat when it came to controlling people. Then again, vikings did have stubbornness issues.

Nestrax stood over the side of the pond, waiting for when they got out. She wasn't finished yet. This wouldn't have been the first time she'd seduced a chief for her own gain. She'd received blackmail, ransom payments, treasure, and a simple good night from many a man. If her father knew, he'd go ballistic, as would her fiance.

 _Maybe,_ she thought, _that's what needs to happen._

Hiccup and Toothless left the pond, his head cleared and cool. Walking cooly over to the woman, he looked down at her. She finally felt what she wanted to feel. A sense of authority and greatness stood above her, and she wanted it more.

However…

"Nestrax," Hiccup said, his voice soothing yet strong, "we can't do this, and you know that."

"So?" She questioned, not a care in the world circling through her mind.

"So, you have to leave and go back to your father."

"No," she refused, clinging to his arm.

" _Nestrax."_ He grabbed her wrist, wrenching her off him. She, for the first time in forever, felt afraid of a man's authority over her, and she didn't go back for more. She stared at him, surprised that a string bean of a viking struck more authority inside of her than any other 8 foot beefy chief she had controlled before. It was mind-boggling.

Nestrax looked at her feet shamefully, and furrowed her eyebrows in anger. "Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why don't you want me?" She glared at him, genuinely confused.

He smirked, knowing this is one of the people that would take years to get through. And so, he realized what he had to do. Walking into his hut, he began to write on a parchment. Glancing over his shoulder, Nestrax saw it was a letter. When he finished, Hiccup handed it to her, said, "Give this to your father," then hopped on his night fury, and took off.

Through the noisy wind, he just barely heard a voice yell, "You'll regret denying me!"

But when looking at the letter meant for her father, she was concerned at the words that stood out. One sentence that caused her to gape at the chief's foolishness.

 _Therefore, Chief Norbert, I believe we should cut ties, not becoming enemies, but rather make each other unacknowledgable as allies._

* * *

His mind was scrambled. Hiccup wasn't sure what he was feeling.

Stupid, for doing something so reckless and on the spot.

Happy for making the correct decision for the good of his tribe.

Terrible because he didn't ask the council for approval.

Sad due to the fact Norbert's tribe couldn't have been able to change.

And finally, angry at Nestrax's nerve of thinking he was a cheating scum.

He yelled into the air, wanting to get his emotions out. Toothless crooned in response, wanting Hiccup to know it was okay.

Oh, how he wished Astrid were there. She'd know what to do better than him. She was his voice of reason. He missed her. They were a match made in Valhalla, as the tribe would say, just like his parents.

He didn't have his wife, but he did have his best friend.

"Toothless? Do you think I did the right thing?"

Toothless got confused sometimes at humans, how they knew their dragons couldn't speak back to them but spoke like they could. It was funny though, and the night fury knew it meant Hiccup saw him as an equal. So, he responded by lifting his head up, motioning for Hiccup to pet him. This was his best way of showing he was there for him.

Then, Toothless dove as sharp as he could, and fell through the air. Dangerous stuff always seemed to cheer Hiccup up. Sure enough, the human was cheering, his whoops filling the air.

After they leveled out and watched the stars, Hiccup laughed, and affectionately rubbed Toothless.

"Thanks bud. I couldn't ask for a better friend."

The next morning, the island was in _chaos._


	11. Chapter 11: Norbert is No More

Norbert was fuming. He lost one of his greatest allies, and not by his choice. He felt insulted, humiliated, under appreciated. And of all things it had to be in front of every other ally he had. Hiccup had said he did not want to become enemies.

I'll have to speak to that boy about this, thought Norbert, as he stormed towards the chief's hut, all the others following behind him, curious and confused.

When he arrived at Hiccup's doorstep, he pounded on the thick wood, hard and firm. He shouted to whoever may have heard, "Come out and face me you limp noodle!"

The other chiefs wanted to shush him, not wanting to see a fight break out between a crazy chief, and a chief with a dragon. The whole purpose of being here was for peace, so what was going on?

After a couple minutes of waiting, the door slowly and calmly opened, revealing one very tired rider and his night fury.

Yawning, Hiccup said, "Morning." Toothless sneezed, firing a small blast at Hiccup's foot, to which he jumped. "Hey what have we talked about?" He asked, turning to the dragon. Toothless laughed.

If Norbert wasn't angry before, he sure was now. How dare this youngster ignore him and goof off when there was a matter of importance. He took the small man by the collar, and raised him to meet his eyes. "We have something to talk about."

Hiccup shrugged. "Obviously."

The other chiefs were amazed at how calm Hiccup was in this situation, being held above the ground by a madman who had murder in his eyes.

The rider was released, his bare feet touching the cold floor. He gestured inside the hut, opening the door wide. "Come in."

As Norbert walked past, he nudged Hiccup with his shoulder. One by one, each chief entered the somewhat-crammed space. It fit a slim guy like Hiccup well, but not all the chiefs gathered in one room. Nevertheless, Norbert wouldn't go all the way to the gathering area when he could talk right here right now.

There weren't enough chairs, so the remaining chiefs stood. In the corner there were two dragons. "You can go ahead and sit if you like," Hiccup said.

The chiefs laughed, only to stop once they realized he was serious. After all, he was sitting on a dragon.

"Eh, It's okay we'll stand."

"Okay, suit yourself."

"Actually Hiccup, could this be a… human talk, please?"

The chiefs would never admit it, but when dragons were around they were on edge. Although they knew they had nothing to fear, 300 years of fighting the creatures takes a toll on one's mind.

"If that's what you prefer." Hiccup made an odd clicking sound, and the two dragons left. "But Toothless stays." The black dragon huffed in confirmation, the two with determined looks in their eyes.

"Ugh, alright, let's just get to the point already!" Norbert said, slamming his hands on the table. "What is this blasphemy?!" He took the letter out of his pocket, and threw it at Hiccup.

"I thought it said it in the note," He responded, the little sass.

"You know what I mean," Norbert snarled, spitting the words out like poison.

Hiccup sighed. "I don't think we should be allies anymore."

"Why!?"

He paused, not wanting to anger the man further, but knew no matter what he did, Norbert would not calm down. Finally, he spoke. "Your tribe, although not harmful to Berk, has not been as beneficial as when you made the treaty."

"What are you talking about, boy?"

Hiccup walked over to a bag, and pulled out two sheets of paper with the Berk crest on it. "This is the peace treaty your father made with my grandfather."

The other chiefs' eyes opened, surprised he had brought such a precious, fragile item with him. What was he thinking? "Yeah, what about it? I've read it before." Norbert said, set on making the "limp noodle" feel fear.

"Your tribe has not held up its part." He brought it over and handed it to Norbert. "You said you've read it before, so then why is this…" He pointed to a specific area, "still happening?"

The area said,

No person of the tribe Hysteric shall proceed to do trade with any other tribe that is not in alliance with Berk.

Norbert didn't break a sweat. "Yo-ou can't prove this is happening."

"Can't I?" Hiccup went over to a closet, and opened the door. Inside was a man, quiet as a mouse, for once.

Trader Johann. (Yes I know what happened in RTTE with Johann but for the sake of this story let's pretend that didn't happen)

Everyone gaped.

"Last night I got him to come here to testify against you. Go ahead Johann, tell him what you know."

Johann was surprised to be suddenly placed in front of all these important people, but wasted no time in introducing himself, ready to tell of his adventure and create a new one.

"Well, you see here, I was trading at a port at the Mestropis tribe…"

"Not an ally of Berk," Hiccup included.

"...and I saw a trading ship that had the Hysteric crest on it. That reminds me of the time I…"

Hiccup shut the door, cutting him off before he could say anymore. "Thank you Johann."

Norbert was stuck. Eventually, he said, "So? I mean, it's not that big a deal. I'll tell them to stop."

"You've promised Berk this two times already." He pulled out a book of records, recounting every time Stoick met with another tribe. Hiccup himself had one of his own. "A chief's record. My father was not one to lie, wouldn't you agree?" He said, turning toward the audience there. They nodded their heads.

"Even so, it's one little part of the treaty!" He defended, not wanting to get in trouble any further, but he knew what he did.

And so did Hiccup.

He smirked, walking slowly towards the chief. He has his mother's dramatic flair after all. He pointed towards two more passages, reading each one loudly and slowly so everyone could hear.

"No Hysteric will set sail in Berkian waters without a message being sent beforehand and vice versa. This is obvious. Our watch posts have spotted your boats multiple times, each visit in which you stole wildlife and game from our forest. In the treaty it clearly states game or livestock is traded or sold, no exceptions." He paused, wanting to see what Norbert had to say this time.

He stuttered, trying to find an excuse, but he couldn't. Hiccup wasn't done yet.

He took the treaty from Norbert and read, "A member of the Hysteria tribe, will not advance upon a chief or heir unless at first given permission from both ends." At this everyone looked confused, except for Nestra. She grew uncomfortable, and her skin became pale.

"What are you talking about?"

Hiccup turned to Nestra. "Last night, your daughter made advances on me without either of our consent. She obviously has represented your tribe terribly and, in my view, will not be a good chief in the future. I want my tribe to be safe from her leadership until she can prove to be a proper heir."

Nestra ran out, Norbert steaming at his daughter's actions. He turned to the lean man, who suddenly seemed much taller than he was, a twinkle in his eyes. It was then, everyone realized how great an ally Berk really was. He was cunning, and there was only one possible way out of this situation.

He lunged at Hiccup, holding a knife at his throat. "Listen boy, I don't want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice. Unless you agree to forget about this meeting, and keep an alliance with us, I will kill you."

Time stood still. This nasty situation happened fast and unexpectedly, and nobody was sure how to react. Thoughts raced through their heads. To their shock, Toothless sat there, asleep, unconcerned of the situation. What was wrong with him? By now he would have attacked.

Hiccup began to laugh, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. Norbert pressed the dagger further towards his neck, trying to threaten him.

"And just what's so funny?" The nutty man asked.

Hiccup stopped laughing, and chuckled. "Norbert, you haven't killed a thing in your life, nevertheless a human," he replied, holding up the chief's journal. "Your father loved to tell mine about you."

Norbert growled. It's true, he had never killed. It's not like it mattered anyway, he was strong and intimidating, and he had people to do that for him. Hiccup took the man's wrist, and snapped it, breaking it immediately. He dropped his dagger, crying out in pain. Hiccup swung his legs, tripping the large man and grabbing the weapon. Toothless finally reacted, jumping up and holding down Norbert so he couldn't get up.

Hiccup looked at his audience, them too surprised to do or say anything. "If I were you," he started, "I'd advise you do the same as me. The Hysterics tribe will only bring a disadvantage to you and your tribe in the future. He has proved himself unsuitable to be an ally, even when given multiple chances. So, if you would excuse me, I have to return him to his hut." With that, he took the treaty, and tore it up, Toothless burning it in the end. He hopped on his dragon, and took off, Norbert being held in the dragon's claws.

Hiccup as soon as he was in the air, whooped, happy his plan worked. Although his hands were shaking, he had appeared confident, which was all he needed. Truth be told, he had come up with it all last night. The advantages of a night fury is vast, and he only had about 5 minutes of sleep. It was worth it, though.

The other chiefs, unsure of what to do, discussed it and agreed on something.

Norbert the Nutjob was not worth the risk.


	12. Chapter 12: Revenge

After dropping off Norbert, Hiccup returned to his temporary home, and by then only one person was left. Nestra.

Hiccup groaned in annoyance. "What do you want?"

She walked up to him, her face red from embarrassment, and slapped him. "How dare you?" She asked, anger in her voice.

"I don't know what you mean," He answered, looking down at her.

"You know what I mean. How could you tell everybody that I…"

"I didn't. Your father brought them here, and he didn't want to discuss it anywhere else. I had no choice but to say what I had to."

"You're just a lying little fox."

"I mean I definitely am, but you're still single."

She charged him angrily, but Toothless picked him up and flew off. The two laughed silently together, and Nestra ran off to her hut. "I swear on my life," she started, "I will get you back."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Back at Norbert's hut, the parent was fuming. He had never faced such embarrassment, nevertheless ones caused by his daughter and a noodle for a chief. He was breaking every object in his path out of rage, the plates already shattered on the ground.

When Nestra returned, she decided to join in her father's rampage, rather than be in the way of it. That wouldn't have turned out well.

She started to rant, "This is all Hiccup's fault! That useless piece of-"

"I'll kill that boy, I'll kill him!" Norbert shouted. She turned to look at her father, ready to agree with him, but then she saw the look on his face.

"You're not kidding," she whispered, the pure rage on her father's face evident enough of the words she spoke. It scared her, at first, until a smile slowly crept on her, the tips of her mouth rising up. "Good." At her comment, Norbert began to laugh. It was a soft, creepy laugh, but it reassured Nestra.

"My daughter, by the end of the week, Hiccup Haddock will have lost more than his left leg."

"How do you plan to go about it?" She said, smiling even larger if that were possible.

"We're not going to get past him with that dragon. But, he doesn't have an escort anymore since she went home."

"While that's great news, again, how do we get past the Night Fury?" She plumped herself down on a chair. "At this point we might as well give up."

"We just started five seconds ago how do you give up that easily?"

She got up, and went to her bag, or bags.

"Hon'. C'mon, we'll get him back I promise."

She continued to stuff her bags with clothes and accessories she brought. It was honestly more than necessary, but she was prepared.

"If you really think we'll win then tell me how to get past that dragon!" She snapped at him. He was used to her tantrums though.

"I promise pumpkin, I-I'll find a way," he said, not sounding confident at all. In response, all he got was a scoff and an eye-roll.

Norbert knew his daughter was a brat, and that she was spoiled, but he didn't really care. He knew she'd one day marry a man who would be more capable than her at managing the tribe, and, if he was lucky, it'd be with a man of immense wealth with much land. It didn't matter much anyway, as long as she never ruled.

Ever since she was a baby, he'd showered her with gifts. His wife had died, and knowing he wouldn't have any other heirs, he'd decided that, no matter what, his daughter would be the happiest girl ever. Why though did he go to so much trouble? It's obvious his Viking nature didn't naturally make him a soft man at heart.

The truth is, he loved being feared. But he did not like to be underestimated. When others claimed he'd never have a happy family due to his tough nature and rough demeanor, he'd fumed. Sure enough, the next day he'd courted his wife, sweeping her off her feet while at the same time vanquishing enemies. He was the deranged flirt of the tribe, and it was truly awesome.

Of course though, all good things had to come to an end, and when she died, he'd lost a little bit more than his mind. Many claimed Norbert had killed his wife, or that she'd taken her own life to get away from him. The rumors had practically butchered his spirit. He thought any bad thoughts about him and his private life were dispelled. But oh, he was so wrong.

Out of spite, he'd made a horrible priss of a daughter, but nobody could deny how happy he made her, even when she was pouting or arguing with him.

Norbert also was aware how much of a flirt his daughter was. He had no doubt in his mind she had flirted with the Haddock man, but that didn't matter to him. She was upset. She was crying, and he would avenge her reputation at any cost.

Then, he noticed her folding up a particular piece of cloth.

"Hold on there sweetie."

She grumbled. "What now dad?"

"I know what to do."

She perked up, and looked at him. "Really?"

Walking over, he took the cloth from his daughter's hands. "Tell me, Nestra, do you know what this is?"

"My dress?"

"Exactly." His eyes lit up.

"I don't understand."

"As much as it didn't seem to bother Toothless, I could tell that he was ticked. That dragon is very protective of his master, and so any threat to him would attract his dragon away from, say, a certain hut?"

"But dad, why would we lure them away with this when we can just sneak in while they're out flying?"

Norbert's face turned blank with realization, and he face palmed. "It's too late now. No doubt they'll have returned back by the time we get there."

"But we won't have any other chance. We leave tomorrow morning now that the chiefs have turned against us. Even now it's late enough that we should spend the rest of the time packing."

If there was one thing Nestra was good at, it was time management.

"Then how are we going to do this?"

"I remember talking in the hall once with Hiccup's wife, and she once said he was flying all night after a particularly difficult day. And this day, even though he won, is definitely difficult enough for a particularly looong fly."

"How can we be sure?"

"Well, your dress idea wasn't a total bust."

"And how are we supposed to use it?"

"I've seen a couple of Hiccup's ideas in his sketches while he was showing you and the other chiefs. In one of them was a pulley, and it gave me an idea."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hiccup and Toothless landed in the soft grass outside of their hut. It was a good, long flight, and only when the sun began to peek itself over the horizon did he decide to head home. After all, he didn't want Toothless to get too tired, and he had a long day ahead of him.

Swinging his foot and hoisting himself off the saddle, his foot touched the ground, and he petted Toothless's nose fondly before sighing.

"Alright bud, we gotta get ready for today."

Toothless nudged his rider, and crooned as if trying to comfort his rider.

"I know, it's gonna suck. But we're leaders now. We gotta do this for the good of the tribe, dragons and humans," Hiccup said, a determined look on his face. Yes, he would do this for his people, it was what he was good at after all. He'd faced trial and error, and nothing was going to stand in the way.

Not even that shadow he just saw out of the corner of his eye.

Both he and Toothless's heads whipped toward the moving figure. The only thing they could make out was that it was a woman.

Immediately, Hiccup came to a conclusion. "Nestra." Toothless groaned at that name. "C'mon bud, let's shoo her away again. I would've thought she'd learned her lesson."

Suddenly, the figure moved rapidly. But it was too smooth, as if she were gliding rather than running.

Despite the odd behavior, Hiccup picked up the pace, practically sprinting. He saw her turn a corner, and just like that, she disappeared behind a tree, as if she were never there.

"I couldn't have imagined it, could I?"

Toothless crooned in response.

"I probably should've gotten some sleep last night."

He smiled, and then began to head back to his hut. Maybe, even if it was just a couple minutes, some sleep would help. After all, he didn't want to be falling asleep when times were so serious.

After what seemed like forever, they made it to the entrance of their hut. Hiccup got an odd feeling, but nudged it off to his sleep deprivation.

Opening the door, he stepped inside, and what he opened it to was worse than anything he could have ever seen, more horrifying than anything anybody would have done when the war was still going on.

The bodies of dead dragons lined the now-bloody room.


End file.
